Just One Shot
by Hot Donna
Summary: Taylor James is the star basketball player of Tree Hill Raven's and the bitchy girlfriend of Nathan Scott. What happens when Haley James, her abandoned half sister joins the team? Summary inside.... Naley!
1. Tie Dye Popular Kids

**Hey guys! I know I'm writing like a lot of fics right now, but this one has been on my mind for a few days now and I really have to start posting it or I'll freak out. It's a little different, so go easy on me guys. Thanks.**

**This is AU and it's pretty darn complicated. Hope this makes sense.**

**Back Story: Haley James is the only daughter of Karen Roe. Her father is Clarence James who is also Taylor James father. One of Haley's arch enemies. Diana James is the mother of Taylor. Haley and Jake grew up together playing basketball and what not. They're best friends with Brooke Davis. Nathan and Lucas Scott are the twin brothers of Deb and Dan. Nathan's currently dating Taylor and Lucas is currently dating Rachel. Tim hangs out with them and dates Peyton. Dan Scott, Clarence James and Larry Sawyer all used to go to Tree Hill High and play basketball. Taylor and Rachel are best friends. Nathan, Lucas, Rachel, Peyton and Taylor all hang out. They are seniors in this. Peyton, Taylor and Rachel are all on the Tree Hill Raven's team. Chase Adams is in college and Haley's on again off again. The team is girls not boys in this. Please, let me know what you think!**

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Just One Shot 

**Chapter One**

**Tie-Dye Popular Kids**

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Ew." Brooke grimaced, throwing a sweat-wet T-shirt off Haley's bed and sitting in its place.

"Shut up." Haley muttered, throwing her hair up in a messy bun.

"You know, you could have like, such hot guys if you actually dressed like a girl." Brooke suggested, eyeing her friend who wore a loose AC/DC sweater and a pair of tight jeans.

Haley turned to her with a tired sigh. "I'm done with guys, Brooke."

"So now you like girls?" Brooke shook her head. "You're so confused."

"Whatever. Are we going or not?" Haley plopped her hands on her hips.

Her brow rose inquisitively. "You're going like that?"

"Yeah." She held her arms out. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing." She smiled sweetly. "If you're a she-man." She added quietly.

"Shut up, Brooke. I'm going like this. Forgive me if I don't get a panicure before every little prank." She rolled her eyes as she threw on some worn basketball shoes.

"It's _mani_cure." Brooke corrected and then blinked innocently when Haley gave her a death glare. "And trust me, this will so be worth it."

"It better be. You know how much I hate them." Tying the last knot in her shoelace, she stood up. "We're going to grab Jake on the way?"

"Yes we are." Brooke stood up happily. "This is going to be so damn cool."

"I hope." Haley followed her friend out of the room.

All the 'important people' of Tree Hill High were sneaking into the school tonight to have some big party on the field. And of course, with Brooke being Brooke, she wanted to ruin it for them all. She hated Rachel and Peyton the most and she wanted to make them miserable. And Jake and Haley were going to stand by her, regardless of the consequence.

Brooke Davis.

She smiled softly at her friend. She'd been her friend for so long, she didn't even remember a day when they weren't. She was there when she lost her first tooth, when she broke her first bone. She was there when her love for basketball turned into more than just a game. When it turned into something she wanted to actually do. The first time Brooke had cried over a boy, Haley had been there for her and vice versa. Hell, Haley was still crying over a boy and Brooke was still there for her.

Jake had been too, really. He'd even offered to kick Chase's ass but she'd declined, because they had a 'connection', Haley always defended. Brooke usually used quotations around the word, adding that the only connection Chase knew of was sticking his male key in the female lock. Jake nodded in agreement at her theory. Haley just chuckled.

"We're here." Brooke announced half an hour later.

Jake pulled the packets of color powder out of his pocket and handed them to Haley from the backseat. "Make it rain rainbows, Hales." He smirked.

Brooke smiled and turned to Haley. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." The two girls climbed out of the car and ran behind a tree hurriedly. They could see the field from a distance. Everybody was partying and having a good time. Haley could make out Taylor dancing with her boyfriend Nathan Scott from a distance. Her eyes narrowed. "Let's go."

They snuck to the sprinkler settings and Haley fell to her knees before it, opening the time box. They were right outside the field and if they moved too much, someone would probably see them. Slowly, she took the powder from her sweater pocket and dumped it into the sprinkler dispenser. Brooke covered her mouth to cover her giggles.

"Shh." Haley ordered, glancing at the crowd.

"Look at him." Brooke whispered next to her. She was watching Lucas Scott, her long time crush. "I hate doing this to him."

"He's one of them, Brooke. Whether you dream about him shirtless or not." Haley told her quietly. She closed the box softly and smirked at her friend. "Let's watch."

Brooke frowned softly. "I can't watch. Lucas is gonna be all mad and wet and…" She looked thoughtfully for a moment. "Maybe I can, on second thought."

Haley shook her head at her and watched as they partied on, like nothing was about to happen. She smiled and slowly sat back. "Let's see Taylor play basketball with green hair."

"Let's see little slutty Rachel play with her hair all tie-dye. Lucas is so not going to do her anymore." Brooke snickered when she spotted her enemy. She hated Rachel. A lot. The slut threw it in her face all the time that she was dating Lucas, who she knew Brooke had been crushing on. She overheard Haley and Brooke talking in the bathroom about him once.

"Let's get a closer look." Haley suggested.

"Uh, you go ahead. I can't run as fast as you." Brooke told her in a whisper.

"Alright." Haley snuck right behind the bleachers, getting a perfect view. She glanced at her watch. Two more minutes.

As soon as she sat down, she saw the cops creeping up to the scene. Her eyes widened in horror and looked to Brooke who also seen them. She waved her hand to Brooke to run and Brooke did just that. Haley crawled from beneath the bleachers, setting up to run and as soon as she jumped to her feet, she felt someone grab her hood. She struggled to get out of their grip, and realized that it was Whitey Durham, the basket ball coach.

Instantly, her struggling stopped.

"Miss Haley James. I didn't think you went to parties like this." He commented tiredly.

"I don't." She gritted. When she looked back to the party, the cops were breaking it up and inebriated teenagers were flying everywhere. She rolled her eyes.

"What're you hiding back here for? Looks like the party's over there." He motioned towards the field, a loose grip on her sweater.

"For them it is." She said with a small smile.

"Come on." He urged her forward. "Let's go." He said, leading her to the field.

No way was she going to have colored hair. "No, Whitey! No!" She planted feet on the ground. "Please! I- I'm-I can't!" She stammered. "I'm agoraphobic!" It was the only thing she could think of.

That made Whitey stop. "What in the hell is that?!"

"I'm…scared of wide open spaces!" Thank goodness for that random trivia on the inside of Snapple bottle caps, she thought. "If I go out there, I'll have a seizure or faint or something."

He eyed her for a moment before shaking his head. "Whatever. Hey!" He called to the officers. "I got one over here!"

The cops held a few people in their grasps. She noticed Peyton, Rachel, Nathan and Taylor. Then she noticed three random other people. Her smile grew as the officers held them directly in the middle of the field. "Bring her over."

"Can't." Whitey said. "She's got some kind of phobia."

Just then, the sprinklers went off. She laughed when she heard Rachel yell something about the color and watched in satisfied amusement when all of them started jumping and hollering.

Whitey looked down at her suspiciously. "No wonder you were behind the bleachers." He sneered.

Haley looked up at him and the look in her eyes made her smile fade.

She was in serious trouble.

**Two Weeks Later**

Haley flopped down on her bed with a tired sigh. Not only was she still grounded for another two weeks, but she had to do one-hundred hours of community service! With Nathan Scott of all people! Yeah, he'd taken the wrap for throwing the party and was held accountable. He took the wrap for his precious little girlfriend and her hated half-sister, Taylor. She smiled a little. Her hair was so green and blue, she remembered. It had just started to fade. At least she got the satisfaction of that.

Brooke and Jake had driven away and she was thankful. Brooke was school president and she didn't want anything jeopardizing that for her. Jake and Brooke felt guilty for leaving her there but she didn't have any hard feelings. She was happy that they weren't in any trouble and she wasn't giving any names. Better one than all of them, right? Besides, she'd been in trouble before, right? A lot lately, dealing with Chase. But the conversation that she had the other day with him, that relationship was done. Hopefully.

Her mother had to pay a thousand dollar fine though and she had to work weeks at the café to work it off. Right now, her life wasn't going too great. Especially since she was going to have to work with Nathan Scott for a month! She wished she could work non-stop and knock the hours out to avoid him. But she knew she couldn't. There was school and homework and the café and the river court. Ah, the river court. There's somewhere she could go to work out her stress. Her mom was at work so she'd never know. She went straight to the café after dropping her off from the courthouse. Grabbing her basketball out of the closet, she sat it on the bed and changed into her basketball clothes.

**000000000000000000000000000000000**

"So you're going to be working with that little freak?" Taylor frowned as she fell onto his bed. "Doing what?"

"Whatever they tell us, I guess." He shrugged and fell down next to her. "Isn't she your sister or something?"

"Sadly." Taylor sighed, laying back and looking at him. "But my father doesn't even claim her ugly ass."

Nathan laughed softly with a crooked smile. "She's kind of hot." He said uneasily.

Mortified, Taylor sat up. "What?! She's hideous!"

"Okay, okay. She's hideous." He lied. He'd seen her at court earlier and honestly she really wasn't bad on the eyes. She didn't have on all that makeup that every girl he ever knew wore and she didn't seem to be worried about how she looked, which he admired in a girl. Though he'd never tell Taylor.

"Right. She is." Nodding, the panic in her face faded. "We totally look nothing alike."

Nathan shook his head with a small chuckle. "Whatever. I just want to get this over with."

"So do I. I mean, between all of our different classes and basketball practice, we won't have a lot of time for us anymore." She pouted, moving to wrap her arms around his neck. "Guess we should start making up for time lost."

"Sounds great." Nathan murmured as he let her pull him on top of her.

**00000000000000000000000000000**

"Hey you." Chase called from behind her.

She caught the ball that had just fell from the hoop and turned to him. "Hey." She said cautiously. They'd just had a nasty fight the other day and she didn't even think he was talking to her anymore. She sure as hell wasn't talking to him.

"You alright?" He questioned walking closer to her.

"About what? The fight or the community service?" She questioned evenly.

"Both." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Haley shrugged too, looking away from him. "Fine, I guess."

After staring at her for a while, he sighed. "Look, Hales. I'm sorry for being a jerk the other day. I want to take you out."

"I'm grounded." She said tiredly. "Which reminds me, I have to go home now."

"Let me take you." He offered, the lust flashing in his eyes.

Haley sighed, knowing how hard he was to resist. "Fine." She huffed, tucking the ball beneath her arm and walking towards him. He slung his arm over her shoulders and placed a chaste kiss on her head. She laughed reluctantly and snuggled closer.

Karen smiled softly, looking over to Whitey. "I think it'll help her stay out of trouble. She's been getting into a lot of it lately."

Whitey sighed and looked over at her. "She's pretty good, I'll admit. But does she want to play?"

"Of course she does. It's the love of her life." Karen assured. "And it'll keep her focused."

"Why hasn't she tried out?" He asked skeptically.

"Taylor." She huffed. "But this is her last shot. Her last year. If given the opportunity, she'll go for it."

Nodding thoughtfully, Whitey started the car. "Fine. I'll consider it." He looked over at Karen. "But she better not screw it up."

Smiling happily, Karen shook her head. "She won't."


	2. Cool Kids Suck

**Thanks for all the great reviews and I know you all have a lot of questions, but they'll all be answered in time. I love the reviews guys! Please, keep em coming. They motivate me to write!!**

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**Chapter 2**

**_Cool Kids Suck_**

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Whitey tapped his fingers on his desk as Haley opened the door and came in. "It's about time." He spat out.

Holding onto the strap on her shoulder, Haley shook her head. "Look, I can't, okay?"

"Why not?" Whitey hadn't been expecting this.

Her eyes narrowed in on his and she smiled sadly. "I think you know why. You've coached them both." With that, she hesitantly turned and walked away.

_Two Days __Before__…_

_"Haley! Come down here please!" Karen called from the living room._

_Haley rushed down, thinking that dinner __was done__ or something good was going to happen. Instead, Whitey sat on her couch. At the doorway __she'd__ stopped, looking to her mother for answers. This had to be a conspiracy because her mother __didn't__ look surprised._

_"Uh, what's happening?" She looked between the two._

_"Coach Durham wants a word with you." Karen answered quietly. "We both do actually." Clearing her throat, she motioned to a chair in the living room. "Have a seat, honey."_

Honey?_! Her mom only called her that when she wanted a __big__ favor or when __she'd__ done something to embarrass her! Haley knew this __wasn't__ good. "No, I'm fine in the doorway." She said, her nails gripping into the wood of it._

_Karen smiled curtly as she motioned to Whitey. "Well, uh…__Coach Durham__ and I've been talking and…well…"She brightened her smile. "We think you should join the team."_

_Haley scowled at her mother. "Why? To be ultimately tortured__" She shrieked lightly. "Mom, I said I was sorry about the sprinkler incident. I'm already doomed to working with Taylor's boyfriend and even worse, scrubbing the poop of strangers out of toilets…I think that's punishment enough!"_

_"It's not punishment!" Karen defended desperately. "It's to keep you out of trouble!"_

_"Well, forcing me to spend more time with not only one, but multiple enemies isn't really the way to go__ for that__." Haley warned, sarcasm dripping from her voice.__ "I think trespassing is better than murder."_

_"You're really good, James." Whitey interfered, standing up. "It's a shame you're willing to give that up because of a little sibling rivalry."_

_"Trust __me,__ it's so much more than that." Haley promised evenly._

_"What's the problem? I know you're not afraid of the girl." Whitey stated._

_"That's my business." Haley was angry. She __didn't__ even know him like that and he was already pretending that he knew her!_

_"Coach Durham, we'll get back to you on this." Karen decided, apologetically smiling at him._

_He nodded once at her and then turned to Haley. "You're making a big mistake, girl."_

_"I think we do that a lot in life." She answered._

_Whitey shook his head. "Goodbye." He muttered, walking out._

_Karen's eyes widened in shock when he closed the door behind him.__ "Haley! That was completely rude and unacceptable!"_

_"I can't believe you did that!"She fumed. "Mom, I don't believe that even just happened!"_

_"Well, honestly, I think you should consider it, Haley." Karen told her sternly. "Besides the fact that it'll keep you out of trouble, it'll secure a future for you."_

_"What? You think I'll get a scholarship this late in the season?" She snorted at the thought and finally walked out of the doorway._

_"__Coach Durham__ said a few scouts still come. __Especially at this State Championship thing."__ She explained. "You could get a scholarship. __I've__ watched you play. You're that good."_

_"What if I don't want to?" __Haley was calm now, seeing the serious concern in her mother's eyes._

_Karen's brow raised in skepticism. "Then I'd say you're crazy." With that, she walked out, leaving Haley to her thoughts._

"Hey." Brooke came next to her friend. "Guess what? Today in Calculus, Lucas Scott talked to me."

Haley shook her head with an amused smile. "What'd he say?"

"Well, I had to get up to ask Mr. Hunt a question because I didn't want to ask out loud, I hate that." She talked. "So anyway, when I was going to sit down, I accidentally bumped his leg which was totally on purpose but that's beside the point, and he said," she stopped walking, the next words were too important to walk and talk, "and I quote, 'sorry, Brooke'." She jumped then, squealing. "He knows my name, Haley!" She said excitedly. "Then he smiled! He smiled! At me!"

"Brooke, don't have a panic attack." Haley joked, holding her friend's shoulders to calm her down. Jake walked up to them then.

"What's going on?" He asked, have seeing Brooke so excited from a distance.

"One of the infamous Scott brother's talked to her." Haley rolled her eyes.

"Not only talked to me," Brooke corrected, turning to Jake, "but he said my name."

Jake laughed at her and shook his head. He turned to Haley. "How'd it go with Whitey?"

"I told him no." She said as they all started walking again. She'd told them about the 'basketball intervention' and was shocked when they said she should do it.

"What? Why?" Brooke pouted slightly. "You should so go for it."

"I'd rather not spend any voluntary time with Clarence James' offspring and her little crew." She smiled sarcastically. "I've already been submitted to enough torture working with her boyfriend."

"Who's totally hot." Brooke added.

"And totally brainless." Haley scoffed. "You have to be to go out with that whore."

"I hear a little hostility. Possible jealousy?" Jake said inquisitively with a smile.

"Possible—not in this life time?" Haley answered in a tone mocking his. "Anyway, I have to go home and do my homework before I'm off to another hell day of cleaning toilets and picking up trash."

"You're making the world a better place, Hales." Jake said mocking proudness while Brooke laughed.

"And if I punched you right now, I'd be making it even better." She joked before waving. "Adios." She turned on her heel and bumped right into a body that felt like it was made of bricks and then sprayed down with the most intoxicating scent. His hands flew out to steady her and when she looked up, she almost screamed.

"Sorry, Haley." Nathan's deep voice said quietly.

She forced a small smile. "It's okay." Were his hands on fire or was his touch just burning her skin for other reasons? She wriggled out of his grip and walked around him. She could practically feel Brooke's eyes burning into her.

_Great_, she thought. More unwanted contact.

* * *

She really didn't see the use in cleaning the toilet in the park bathroom stall because she was about to dirty it again with her impending vomit. She had gagged a few times already and she didn't know how many more times she would without actually regurgitating her lunch. She dropped the toilet scrubber and fell away from the toilet. That gook just wasn't coming up.

_Forget it_, she said to herself. No way was she scrubbing up somebody's poop. Getting to her feet, she removed the gloves with the wary tips of her fingers and threw them in the garbage. She'd go rake. Even though Nathan was there and she'd been trying to avoid him ever since they started. It was the third day of her punishing duty…and looking at those toilets, she vowed that the sprinkler prank was the last thing she'd ever do wrong. Five hours a weekday full of torture and hell…and crappy toilets. Life was just the best, wasn't it?

She walked outside, the sun was already setting. She scanned the large park and saw him picking trash up from the basketball court. She snorted at the sight of him and went to grab a rake—she'd work on the total opposite side from him.

After about ten minutes, she glanced up at the courts again and he wasn't there. "Hey." His voice sounded from behind her.

_Damn_, she rolled her eyes. She turned to face him reluctantly. "What?" She retorted evenly.

"Did you do the bathrooms yet?" He got the feeling that she didn't like him very much. She hardly ever even looked at him.

"Half." She decided to say. "I left the other half especially for you." With a sweet, sarcastic smile, she turned back to her work.

He was going to walk away and just leave it at that, but he couldn't. Not when he could feel that there was underlying hatred there. "Why do you hate me?"

Instantly, she turned to face him. "I don't. I just never want to get to know you and showing unbridled distaste for you is a way to ensure that it stays like that."

"Why don't you want to know me?" His interest was piqued now. It mildly bugged him that she didn't want to get to know him. Usually, all of the girls did.

"You're all the same, no matter how much you claim that your 'clique' has its unique variety." She used quotations with her fingers.

"Who's all the same?" He played dumb, just for her to elaborate. He found her theory interesting.

"You and your little posse." She specified matter-of-factly. "The 'Cool Kids'." Again, she used dramatic finger quotes. "In my opinion, cool kids suck."

Nathan chuckled at her. "So what? You get to judge us now?" His eyes narrowed in humor, though there was seriousness to his question.

Haley snorted, shaking her head. "Uh, I have no choice. I mean, you're obviously too good for any of us little people to associate with. We have to dub you for what we do know of you."

"Well, I'm not like everybody else." He challenged her words. "You've never attempted to get to know me, either."

Haley laughed out. Now _that_ was funny. "Oh sure. What am I supposed to do? Come up to you at lunch and say, 'hey Nath—an? How ya' doin?!" She curled a piece of her hair and pretended to be chewing on a piece of gum, her 'dumb cheerleader' voice in play as one hand propped on her hip and she bounced ditzily.

"Sure." He stated simply, and then frowned slightly. "Just without the…retarded voice. Then I _won't_ talk to you."

Haley threw him a glare of death. "Look, even if that were the case, I still wouldn't do it. I'm content with loathing you from afar."

Nathan shook his head, giving up. "Whatever, Haley. You just hate me because of Taylor. And that's not fair." With that, he walked away.

_So_! She thought to herself. Wasn't she allowed to hate him because he dated her archenemy? Well, even if she wasn't, she did. He was associated with Taylor and that earned him one of the top spots on her HATE list. Even if it was irrational, oh well. Distractedly, she got back to work.

* * *

Closing the door softly, Haley crept into the house, hoping her mother couldn't hear her.

The hallway light clicked on. "There you are." Karen crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, if your community service starts at four, then it ends at nine." Her eyes narrowed. "Which means three hours are unaccounted for seeing as how it's twelve."

Haley sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, holding her breath. Then, she shrugged. "Long drive." She mumbled, hoping not to let the smell of cigarette smoke and liquor make its way to her mom.

Karen's head tilted to the side. "Are you drunk?"

Haley shook her head. "No." And it was true, she wasn't drunk. She'd just had a few drinks.

Karen's eyes narrowed knowingly. "Have you been drinking?"

Haley nodded vehemently. "Water…soda…" She listed nervously. "Apple juice…energy drinks…"

"Liquor?" She specified.

Haley stared. "You know, mouthwash has a _lot_ of alcohol in it and today, I swallowed _so_ much…" She began lying.

"Grounded." Karen said sternly. "Even longer than you already are. You may not be un-grounded until you graduate."

Haley sighed heavily. "Mom…"

"Unless…?" Karen smirked, trailing off.

Haley eyed her warily. "_Unless_ what?" She tucked her hands into her tight jean pockets.

Still smiling, Karen walked over to her. "_Unless_…you join the team."

"Mom, are you blackmailing me?" Haley was clearly appalled.

"No, I'm forcing you to do the right thing." She corrected. "It's similar to blackmail but not quite."

Being grounded for about the rest of her adolescence or joining the team and dodging that? Hell, she had her pick. Though being grounded did seem better than hanging out with Taylor and her friends. But, the liquor must have gotten to her because she was choosing basketball. "Fine." She huffed. "But it's not like I'm going to change."

Karen watched as her daughter walked towards her room. "If Chase gives you anymore liquor, I'm calling the police." She stated, proving that _she'd_ make the change if necessary.

Haley threw her an annoyed look over her shoulder before bustling in her room and shutting the door.

* * *

Haley stopped in Whitey's open doorway and solemnly knocked. When he looked up, she smiled softly. "Haley. I wasn't expecting to see you." He removed his glasses and dropped the pen he had been using.

"I wasn't expecting you to see me either." She muttered and then sighed. "But, I want to join the team."

Whitey smiled. "Do you, huh? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Let's just say choosing basketball was more convenient." She knew he didn't understand but ignored his questioning glance. "Anyway, I just have a question. How am I supposed to do practice with my community service and everything?"

"You'll just leave practice a little earlier than all the other girls." He noted easily. "I've seen you play. You can handle it. You're better than most of the girls on the team. But you didn't hear that from me." He laughed.

Haley smiled. Honestly, she was flattered at his comment. "Well, thanks Whitey." She forced a bigger smile and then turned around.

"Ms. James?" He called.

She turned to face him in the doorway. "Yeah?"

He smiled encouragingly at her. "You'll find your way." He promised.

Unsure of what he meant, she just nodded. "Thanks." She walked out.

* * *

When she walked in dressed to practice, a few of the girls already eyed her suspiciously. She hated being scrutinized. They were watching her. Stupid girls! Why'd they always have to judge the new people? She looked away from them and to Whitey, who had a stern look on his face.

"We've got a new teammate today!" Whitey yelled standing beside Haley. All the girls stopped their stretching and watched her. "Her name is Haley James and she's going to be our new shooting guard!"

Rachel gasped. "What?! Coach, that's me!" She screeched, glaring at Haley.

He smirked at the annoying redhead. "Then I guess you're going to have to fight for the spot, Gatina." He motioned for Haley to join the crowd. "Alright, let's get some suicides done here."

Why she was nervous, she couldn't pinpoint. But the way that Taylor and Rachel were eyeing her made her want to run off in the other direction. Why did they have to make her feel so uncomfortable? Man, she hated those two girls so much. They made her contemplate going to jail. Maybe it was worth killing them, she briefly told herself.

Taylor took a spot next to Haley and laughed. "Tell me this is a joke." She muttered.

Haley smiled dryly. "I think the only joke here is you. No wonder Whitey asked me to join the team. All he has is you to take him to State and that's just not good enough."

Taylor's eyes tightened on her. "Do you really think you're better than me, Orphan?"

Haley cringed at the name. Taylor hadn't called her that since the end of sophomore year. "No, I don't think so. I _know_ it, Barbie." The whistle blew and Haley fought to beat Taylor at everything they were supposed to do.

* * *

It just wasn't a really good day for her, she decided on her way to Tree Hill Park to do community service. Taylor and Rachel had been pushing her buttons _way _too much. She wanted to kill those bitches. Fake, plastic whores, she thought. She couldn't wait to blow that bitch out in the next game.

Chase stopped in front of the park. "Wanna do it before you go?"

"Chase, no!" She hissed, grabbing her backpack. She'd decided to bring her homework with her since she wasn't able to do it because of practice. And she decided to do her homework because it had to be done in order to stay on the team. Ooh, lucky her, she thought. Homework, community service and playing basketball with bitches I can't stand.

He rolled his eyes. "You're no fun anymore, Haley."

"No, I don't want anymore community service. Do you know how boring this is?" She couldn't believe he was going to start an argument about this.

"Actually, I do. And the girlfriend's I had back then made it _way _more enjoyable." He gave her a snide look and clenched his jaw.

Her eyes dangerously narrowed. "Bye Chase." She climbed out and she could feel him climbing out too.

"Oh, so that's it?!" He fumed loudly. "Bye? Just like that?"

She could see Nathan in the distance staring at her, now she was really embarrassed. "Chase, please not here."

"Not here, huh?! Then when?! We hardly ever hang out anymore!" He yelled at her back.

She whipped around. "You mean we hardly ever have _sex_ anymore!" She hissed quietly. "Because I recall hanging out with you a lot, Chase! Getting drunk with you! Disobeying my _mom_ for you!" She pointed to his chest, holding her backpack up with the other hand.

"You're just a stuck up bitch, Haley. You think your shit's _so_ sacred." He snorted, as if to say that that sure as hell wasn't the case. "I can get girls anywhere."

"Well go right ahead, Chase. I've never stopped you before, have I?" One thing she regretted was giving her virginity to Chase. She thought that he was somebody that he wasn't and she realized it all too late. But it was too late to take it back now and she had to admit, the sex was good. She was trying to make it work, but she knew it was a dead end.

"Fine." He huffed, walking away from her. "I will."

"Good." She challenged. "Go."

His eyes narrowed at her. "I'll probably be too busy to take you home tonight, so you may have to walk."

Haley shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll find some guy to take me."

Chase laughed. "Whatever, Hales." He hopped in his truck and sped off angrily.

Haley sighed tiredly and looked over to Nathan who looked away, pretending that he wasn't listening to every word. Men were jerks all around, she said to herself, rolling her eyes at him.

It really was a bad day.

* * *

Haley stared longingly at her cell phone, waiting for it to ring. She'd called Brooke, Jake, her mom, hell, she even called Chase, but no one seemed to be home. Of course they had better things to do then wait for her call on a Thursday night. It was the beginning of the soon-to-be-beginning of the weekend. Thursday was the new Friday. Not even her mom was that lame as to be home doing nothing. Then suddenly, she thought about her uncle Brian, the brother and polar opposite of Clarence James. He'd practically raised her with her mom, but had to leave a few months ago because her grandma—his mother, was sick. Clarence wanted to throw her in a convalescent home but Brian opted to go take care of her. What a good man, she thought.

She knew her mother had feelings for him. Sometimes, she wished that they would've just gotten married and had been done with it. Then maybe, her mother could be truly happy. But Brian had a bit of a drinking problem and her mother hadn't wanted to deal with that when Haley was little. But as she got older, she wondered what it was that was keeping her mother from acting on her feelings. Then, she heard her mother talking to one of her good friend's on the phone one night.

_"You know," __Karen__ said lowly, "Clarence was just like Brian before we started going out. He was nice, funny, __helpful__But__ when he found out that I was pregnant, he flew. What if Brian does that?" She sounded extremely worried._

_Brian would never do that_, she used to try to tell her mom. But her mom had doubts that broken trust had caused and only an undefeatable true love could heal.

Haley flipped her cell phone closed and sighed. Yeah, her uncle Brian would sure pick her up right now. She shoved the phone in her pocket and hiked her backpack up on her back, readying herself for the lengthy walk home.

"Hey, you need a ride?"

Reluctantly, Haley turned to face him. "I don't think that's a good idea. We shouldn't be seen together." She said seriously, shaking her head softly.

"Why?" He asked, confused by her response.

"I thought we already went over this." She put up her quoting fingers. "'Cool Kids' suck. And I'm sure as hell not about to be caught dead with one of them." She rose her brows expectantly and smiled wryly.

Nathan laughed aloud, shaking his head. "It's just a ride. You can't hate me that much."

"You'd be surprised." She deadpanned. Then, she did something that _she_ couldn't even control. She let her eyes rake his form. She gulped as she made out the traces of his taut chest and bulgy arms. Were those muscles real?! She then looked up at his face—where a conceited smirk was planted. "What?" She fidgeted uncomfortably.

"I'm hot, huh?" He chuckled knowingly.

Haley rolled her eyes. _Was he serious_?! "No." She lied. "I was just wondering who picked your clothes for you. You dress like an old man." He wore a black polo shirt with loose, worn jeans. Hardly the clothes of an old man but hey, she needed an excuse.

He frowned, feigning offense. "You dress like a skater or something." He retorted.

"Not that I do, but there's nothing wrong with skaters." She defended. She wore a brown faded sweater that said 'girls rock' in pink block letters and a pair of old jeans that used to be Brooke's.

He stared at her for a while. "Do you want a ride or not?"

She glanced down the dark street. "I shouldn't take rides from strangers…" She started, hoping anybody else would come down the street right now.

"I'm only a stranger because that's what you want me to be." He fortified lightly. "No one ever said we _had_ to be strangers."

"Yeah, no one except Taylor and her little demon friends." She watched him glance away from her at the mention of the girl's name. "Yeah, exactly what I thought." She mumbled disappointedly.

"She's not the boss of me." He said seriously. "I'm my own person." Though he felt he said it to convince himself more than to convince her.

Haley shrugged dismissively. "Whatever. I'll take the ride. I need to go home."

He sighed in relief, happy that that subject was over. "So, was that your boyfriend earlier?" He dropped the rake and clapped his hands together, dusting them off before pulling his keys out of his pocket.

Haley tilted her head thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess you could say that." Okay, was she really talking to Nathan Scott or was this a dream?!

Scratching his head, Nathan snickered uneasily. "He's kind of a jerk, isn't he?" He asked, half expecting a real answer.

Haley had to laugh at that. _Kind of_?! "Exclude the 'kind of' and that's Chase Adams for you." Her eyes narrowed and then she looked towards him as though she remembered something really important. "Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you a jerk too?" She pointed at him.

Nathan laughed and put a hand to his heart as they continued to walk towards his car. "Whoa. You wound me, Haley."

"I try." She said, a little more seriously than he probably noticed. She didn't like him, she told herself. He wasn't an acceptable person. She was just being civil because she needed a ride and he was the only one there to give her one.

"What was the argument about?" He wondered curiously. Haley hadn't seemed so intent on arguing as the guy had, he had noticed. _Must've been about sex_, he said to himself.

"Just…stuff." She said uncomfortably.

Right there, he knew he was right. "So Haley James, where do you live?" He questioned as they made it to his SUV.

"Far away from you." She answered happily, opening the door on her side.

* * *

Okay, so on the way home she'd come to a startling resolution that _she_ couldn't even believe and would never admit to Nathan.

Nathan Scott wasn't that bad of a human being.

Yeah, he had his flaws like farting when he thought the music was too loud to notice and dating slutty whore's like Taylor James, but hey, wasn't that a normal teen? Maybe she hadn't been giving him the benefit of the doubt. He was probably with Taylor because she was easy and she probably thought he was snobby because he was so…_hot_? Did she honestly think he was hot before tonight? Maybe she had thought he was easy on the eyes, she remembered even thinking that a time or two. But as she watched him smile…was Nathan adorable or was she just temporarily insane?

"…so Lucas like, ran straight into the wall." Nathan blurted, laughing afterwards.

Haley tried to suppress her laughter, but it came through anyway and she shook her head. "Whoever thought you guys were so…klutzy." She laughed out, eyeing him like he wasn't who he really was. But in her eyes, he wasn't. She never thought he was this way.

Nathan shrugged. "I don't know. We're really cool though." He glanced at her house, they'd been sitting there for at least ten minutes.

"Now you're even weirder than I thought." She half joked, shaking her head.

"Tell me a story about you." He waved his hand towards her, leaning back against the door. "You don't have any funny stories you're dying to share?"

Haley shook her head and looked down at her lap with an airy giggle. "I'm sure if I did then I still wouldn't tell you. I think I've been embarrassed in front of you enough for one day."

"You mean with that Chase guy?" She nodded. "That wasn't embarrassing. Well, for him maybe. But couples argue all the time. It's normal."

Haley scoffed, glancing at him. "Yeah, it's normal to argue every three hours. Is that what you and Taylor do?" She asked teasingly.

"More like every two, but…" He shrugged easily. "I always know how to fix that." He said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Haley frowned and put a hand up to stop anymore oncoming ways to make her gag. "Okay, I'm sure I didn't need to hear that."

"You know it always works." He prodded. "Unless you're a virgin." He said it, but it was kind of a question.

"No." She said softly. _Were her cheeks turning red_?! "Have you seen Chase?" She added laughingly, insinuating that Chase was too hot to resist.

It was Nathan's turn to grimace. "Yeah. That's why I thought you'd still be a virgin." He laughed as he tried to dodge her playful swat.

Haley glanced at the clock on the radio and sighed reluctantly. "I should probably…"

He didn't really want her to leave, he thought. But then again, if he wasn't at Taylor's in five minutes, she'd surely find out where he was.

"Yeah." She pushed pieces of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks for the ride." She smiled softly and opened her door to climb out. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

Nathan nodded with a small smile. "Yeah."

Haley nodded and walked into her house, surely confused. Nathan Scott was…_nice_? When and how did this happen? There had to be a catch. Maybe Taylor had put him up to it. Deciding to forget about it for now, she ran to her room and called Brooke and Jake to see what they were doing and why they hadn't been able to answer her phone calls.

* * *

"I can't believe you hung out with Nathan Scott!" Brooke said for the four billionth time that day. "Are you going to talk to him today when you see him?"

Haley shrugged nonchalantly, though her insides were anything but nonchalant. Was she supposed to be this nervous to see him? Was she supposed to be feeling this guilty for labeling him? She'd pegged him as a stuck-up prick for so long, was it true that she had misjudged him? She couldn't seem to get yesterday out of her head. Maybe since Nathan had accepted her, Taylor and Rachel would leave her alone. She'd feel a whole lot better in practice without people trying to purposely trip her while doing suicides.

"I can't believe you're not excited." Brooke murmured so only they could hear. "You know, our luck's been going pretty good lately. We both acknowledge that the Scott Brother's know our names and then you hang out with Nathan…at night! Haley, we could so be climbing up the social ladder." She cheesed happily. "I'm this close," she showed her fore finger and thumb who were inched very closely, "from stealing Lucas away from that redheaded wench."

"Brooke, why don't you give it up? Find another guy." She said humorously.

"There is no other guy for me, Haley. I will get Lucas." She said determinedly. "You watch and see."

Haley almost believed her, the way she looked at her. "Good luck, Tigger." She sighed and then closed her locker. "My first game is on Saturday. Are you coming?"

"Of course! I'll be there with bells on." She grimaced a little. "Or flags…or pom-poms…or whatever fans wear." She gave up with a wave of her hand. "Jake is so excited."

"Why?" She asked nervously. What if she choked?!

"He's been waiting for you to join the team since Freshman year!" She announced doubtfully. "You know, you're going to get recruited, Haley."

"I'm not getting my hopes up." She said lowly. "I mean, that would be great, but it could also not happen."

"It will. Don't always be so broody." She whacked Haley playfully. "You see all the bad things in life, Haley. Not to mention you pick the bad guys—hence Chase," Haley glared at her and she smiled brightly, "but if that's what floats your boat." She changed. "Even though Nathan might float it a little bit more."

"Shut up about Nathan now. I don't like him like _that_." She declared. "I just can't believe I misjudged him for so long. You know, he's just like one of us. He's cool."

Brooke smiled dreamily. "I wonder if Lucas is like him." Spotting them, Brooke's eyes widened and she patted Haley's arm urgently. "Ohmygah, there they are!" She squealed.

Haley met the blue eyes of Nathan and felt a smile creep on her face. He was walking in between Lucas and Peyton and Taylor and Rachel were on the side of Lucas who was farthest away from them, talking about something in their own little world.

Haley raised her hand and waved shyly at Nathan. "Hey." She greeted.

Then, he raised an eyebrow like he had no idea who she was and snorted when Taylor grabbed his arm and laughed out loud, grabbing the attention of a few people in the hall. "Oh, wow. Did she just wave at you Nathan?" Taylor stopped walking and her and Rachel laughed louder.

Haley felt her face heating with humiliation.

"Do you wish you had him?" Taylor asked, mocking pity. Then, her and Rachel giggled.

Haley swallowed hard. "Never in a million." She smiled tightly, her eyes meeting Nathan's. He just watched her ruthlessly. Did he have amnesia?! This wasn't the same Nathan that was telling her funny stories in his car last night…_was it_?!

"He'd never go for you, Haley. Sorry. Only hot girls." Taylor laughed and then flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Oh, what Haley wouldn't give to dye it green again.

"Well, then what is he doing with you?" Brooke backfired for her friend.

"Hey, kill it fatty." Rachel warned.

Brooke eyed her evilly. "I think somebody wants a nose job." She held her fist up and then smiled tightly. "Or another one, in your case."

Gasping, Rachel covered her nose. "Who told you that?!" She said guiltily, revealing that she had one.

"Let's just go." Nathan suggested, pulling Taylor along with him.

Lucas and Peyton shared disappointed looks before looking at Nathan. "That _is_ the Haley he said he hung out with last night, isn't it?" Peyton asked to make sure.

Lucas nodded. "Yep."

"Okay." Peyton was confused. "What just happened?"

He and his brother shared a look that only they could read. _You idiot_! Lucas yelled with his eyes. _I __didn't__ know what to do_! Nathan silently answered back. Lucas sighed and looked back at Haley who was watching them leave with a dumbfounded gaze. Then, he looked to Peyton. "Nathan just screwed up, that's what happened."

* * *

Of course there was a catch, Haley! How could you have been so stupid?! Yes, she was beating herself up because she had been beating herself up over Nathan when he was a complete asshole! Of course she hadn't misjudged him! She was always pretty good at reading people. Nathan equaled asshole and so did the rest of that hellish clan. Thanks to him, she had suffered one of the most embarrassing moments of her life.

Then, he had the nerve to try to talk to her today at the park. She held the rake up in batting position and he quickly got the hint to stay the hell away from her. She'd never been humiliated so bad…and in front of Taylor of all people. That was the worst part of it all. Only fifteen days left of being tortured with his presence, she reminded herself. Then, she never had to be alone with him again.

"We don't have to be strangers." She mimicked in her best Nathan voice, which sounded and awful lot like a prissy little girl. She considered looking up voodoo rituals on her computer and trying a few on Nathan and his friends, but she was too busy wallowing.

"I'll kick his ass." Jake offered from the other side of her bed.

She didn't even look at him. "I was thinking we'd kidnap him, slowly detach his limbs from his body and then repeatedly squish his balls with vice grips until he can't breathe." Her eyes stayed trained on the floor but she spoke with intense seriousness.

Jake winced. "Isn't that a little harsh?"

"You weren't there." Brooke defended from the chair at Haley's desk. "If you had been, you'd know what she's feeling." She looked over at her friend sympathetically.

"Oh well, who cares, Haley? So, he's a jerk. At least you know that your instincts are never wrong." Jake said.

She smiled dryly at her friend. "I think I'd rather my instincts be wrong than have to put up with the humiliation I did today. Not to mention the embarrassment I had to face when I went to practice." She rolled her eyes at the thought and rolled over on her back, covering her face with her hands. "I almost quit the team."

"Aw." Brooke sympathized. "Men suck, Haley." She heard Jake grunt and smiled sweetly at him. "Except you, of course."

He nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you."

There was a knock on the door, which reminded Haley that her mother wasn't home. Groaning, she sat up. "Please don't let that be Chase. I'm so not in the mood right now." She slipped into her house shoes and walked leisurely down the hall. It was nearly eleven, who the hell was at her house!

She made it to the front door and swung it open, a frown already formed on her face—until she realized who it was. Then, her face lit up with a smile. "Oh my--!" She jumped into his arms.

"I heard my favorite niece had a basketball game tomorrow." He laughed, hugging her back. "I wouldn't miss that for the world."

"You came back to watch me play?" She asked happily, backing away to look into his boyish face.

"Of course. You know Jake and I have been waiting for you to join the team since Freshman year." He chuckled with his best—clueless teenager voice.

Haley laughed and hugged him again. "You don't know how good it is to see you, Uncle Brian." She sighed happily. "We have so much to catch up on."

* * *

Tell me what u think! 


	3. Visits From the Unknown

**Thanks for all the really great reviews, they really mean a lot. My internet was off for a while, so that's why I hadn't been updating, but expect more frequent updates from me now on**

**Notes: This might seem a little Laley in this chapter, but trust me, it's totally Naley. I just adore the laley friendship so I had to put it in here somewhere.**

**...R/R please!**

**Thanks!**

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* * *

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**Just One Shot**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Chapter 3**

_**Visits From the Unknown**_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"This is the last game before the playoffs," Mouth announced from the sidelines, "if the Raven's can pull this off they'll be automatically entering playoff season. We're in the fourth quarter, and times running out."

Haley rolled her eyes and ignored the fact that she was wide open and Rachel went for the layup--missing it at that—instead of passing the ball to her. Haley groaned, as did the rest of the team and ran up to Rachel. "Why don't you try passing the ball, bitch?" She snapped, lifting her jersey and swiping sweat off her face—exposing the taut and flat skin of her stomach.

"I do! Just not to you! Bitch!" Giving her a sweet, strained smile, she ran back and tried to block the other team from scoring.

All night, Taylor and Rachel had been intent on not passing her the ball when she was open and could've made a good shot. Even though she'd scored an easy thirty-one points for the game, it was only because it seemed Peyton was more into winning than living out there little rivalry on the court—although the girl didn't seem that bad really. Then again, that's what she thought about Nathan she quickly reminded herself.

Haley was guarding the girl on the other team who had the ball. She held Haley's eyes with a smile, obviously wasting the clock. With practiced skill, Haley shot her hand out, hitting the ball and the ball only, sending it straight into the hands of Peyton Sawyer without the slightest chance of a foul.

"There's only ten seconds on the clock," Mouth said tensely, "and the Raven's have got the ball. It's seventy-one and up…this shot determines if it's OT or if the Raven's are taking it home!" Mouth stood up slowly when Peyton threw the ball to a wide-open Haley.

Haley caught the ball, knowing that this was the chance to show everybody that she had what it took. She was at the three-point line and there was no one else in the room—just her and the basket. Three seconds left on the clock. She knew she had this. She smirked as she hopped in the air and shot the ball, watching as it slowly hurled towards the hoop.

"This is it, guys!" Mouth stated as it swished into the net without hesitation. "And Haley James scored a three pointer! The Raven's are taking it home! They won the game!! Haley James ended it with an amazing shot! The assist by Peyton Sawyer!! Seventy-four to seventy-one! The Raven's win against the Bulldogs with that amazing buzzer shot!" He hugged his fellow classmates happily.

Haley smiled joyfully as she threw her hands up and the teammates who didn't hate her hugged her in thanks. She looked in the crowd and watched as her mother and Brian hoorayed happily. Brooke was jumping around happily too, hugging Jake and he looked as proud as ever. However, when she saw Clarence, he was not nearly as happy as the rest of the crowd. Their eyes met only briefly before he turned to Taylor, practically trying to kill her with his gaze. He and Diana walked off, Diana looking more afraid to be happy than anything.

She saw Nathan walking towards Taylor and gave him the deadliest glare she could muster. She knew that he could feel it on him, but he struggled to ignore her. She turned away from him and smiled back at her mom and Brian.

"Thirty-four points. Impressive." Peyton patted the girl's back. "Good game, Haley."

Haley turned to her and frowned slightly. "Thanks." She mumbled in confusion.

Peyton chuckled and shook her head. "I'm not like Nathan, Haley. I don't care who sees me talking to you. Relax." She hit the girls arm playfully and smiled. "See you, Monday."

Haley watched her walk away before going to see her mother and Brian in the stands. "Hey." She smiled wildly.

"Nice shot, Hales. And thirty-four points. Wow." Brian told her, pulling her into a hug. "Good thing that blonde girl threw you the ball at the end, huh?" He chuckled gruffly in glee.

"You were great, Haley. Now aren't you happy I forced you to play?" Karen smirked happily.

Brian snuck a playful look towards Karen. "You mean you blackmailed her, didn't you?"

Karen gasped, appalled. "Haley, why are you filling his head with lies?" She said, feigning seriousness.

Haley put on her best innocent face and shrugged. "I don't know what he's talking about, Mom. But I've got to hit the showers. I'm probably staying over at Brooke's so, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for coming." She quickly kissed her mom's cheek and gave Brian a quick hug before zooming off.

Karen smiled as she watched her go. "I know it's for the best, Brian." She briefly explained.

"Yeah, it is." He shifted his green eyes to look at Karen. She was still as beautiful as he remembered. "So, we never did get to catch up last night or today. I was checking out apartments earlier and Haley about talked my ear off last night." He said playfully.

"I told you that you can stay with us for as long as you need." Karen repeated for the third time that day.

Brian shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. Not right now." Underlying reasons were beneath his words.

Karen nodded knowingly. "I suppose you're right." She muttered nervously, fidgeting with her fingers.

"We should catch up now." He smiled at her before he realized that he had been doing it too long. "Why don't we go get some coffee?"

Karen smirked with a nod. "Just so happens I still own a café." With a smile, they began walking off.

**xxxxxx**

Was it ever normal to have the urge to strangle your best friend? Brooke was on the verge of being strangled right now. As she stared in the mirror at her streaked hair, she fumed. It wasn't that much overdone, but Brooke had lightened it a few shades before she sneakily added some golden colored streaks to her hair. It just wasn't cool. She felt so…Taylor-ish. Even to her surprise though, quite a few girls had come up to her at school and said 'cool hair'. They didn't even snigger and giggle like they did when they'd said it to Taylor, Rachel and Peyton after the sprinkler incident. She smirked at herself. Taylor still had to fix her hair a certain way to hide the purple and green blotches in the back.

She grabbed her bag and sat it on her bed. She was almost on her way to another horrible day at Tree Hill Park. Couldn't Nathan get hit by a bus on the way there? On Friday, he'd tried to talk to her. Then today at school, he completely pretended as if she wasn't there…again. Not that she humiliated herself with acknowledging him again. She'd never do that again. Not to him. What a jerk!

Jake walked in the room. "You know, staring at your hair isn't going to make it change back." He informed her with a smile.

She wryly grinned as she turned to him. "Yeah, well, there's nothing wrong with trying."

He laughed and swung his keys around on his finger. "You ready?"

"I'm never ready to spend time around that bonehead, but I have no choice, do I?" She swooped her backpack from the bed and sighed.

"Your hair does look really nice, Hales." He told her again. It was true. It was pretty.

"Yeah right. It's so bouncy and shimmery and…all the dead ends are gone!" She uselessly complained.

"It looks nothing like Taylor's if that's your concern." He promised. "Besides, she's got a little colorful thing going on right here." He motioned to the back of his head before they laughed and chucked his thumb towards the doorway. "Let's go."

She reluctantly followed him. Twenty minutes later, she was at the park and watched as Nathan listened to his I-Pod while he picked up trash. She rolled her eyes and looked to Jake. "I hate him." She muttered. "Bye."

"Bye." He waved and then smiled after she closed the door. "Be good. Don't kill any Scott's today." He called out the window.

She smirked wryly. "If I did, you wouldn't tell, right?"

"You've got a rock solid alibi right here." He motioned to himself before putting his hands on the wheel. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I need all the luck I can get." She sighed and turned around as he finally drove off. She watched Nathan for a moment before he looked up at her. She rolled her eyes and walked in the complete opposite direction. _Life was torture_, she said to herself.

They had forty-five minutes of the day left and almost every thing was done. Haley was sitting on a bench trying to finish her English homework when Nathan walked up to her. She knew he was there, but she wasn't going to let him know that_. Isn't that what he did to me_, she said to herself.

"I really like your hair." He said nervously. He knew he was the jerk of the millennium right now. Brushing her off like that had been harsh and very mean, he knew. But he didn't know what else to do. Lucas had teased him endlessly after that, saying that Taylor had him so whipped that he was afraid to even say hi to another girl. But it wasn't just _another_ girl. It was Haley James, the one girl in school that Taylor hated the most and he'd never hear the end of her complaining if he had waved back. Now, how could he explain that to her so she'd see that he wasn't a complete and utter asshole?

She didn't even flinch at his compliment, though. Her hair did look pretty. It was glittery and hanging in her face, seeming to frame it perfectly. She was pretty damn hot, he admitted to himself. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked around the darkening park, noticing a few kids playing basketball and a homeless man sitting at a far away table.

"Are you still mad?" He questioned as if she shouldn't be.

Haley stopped writing whatever it was that she was writing and forced a smile, staring at the pencil in her hand. "I knew I sharpened my pencils for good cause today." She gripped it as if she was ready to attack.

Nathan backed up a little with a frown. "You don't get it, Haley."

"No, you don't get it." She glared at him menacingly. "You fed me all that crap about us being strangers and how we didn't have to be…then you blow me off the very next day?! Not that I even care if you say one word to me in front of our usual civilization but to think I felt bad for misjudging you!" She closed her notebook and snorted, shaking her head. "I said hi to you that day because _I_ felt bad! Not because you're popular or because you actually matter at school. I really couldn't care less, Nathan."

If he didn't feel low before, he sure did now. "So what? I was just supposed to be all friendly with you in front of Taylor?" He weakly argued.

"If that's how you feel then why even offer me a ride or sit and talk to me in your car?" She asked as though her anger had fled for a moment and all that was left was a need to know why. "Why feed me all that 'we're all the same' crap?!"

He shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know."

Haley let out a breath as she stuffed her things in her backpack. "Look, Nathan. Obviously, there's something going on with you. I don't want to be a part of your little confused destruction so do me a huge favor and stay the hell away from me." She stood up and threw the backpack over her shoulder before walking away.

"I think you're a really cool person, Haley." He admitted to her retreating form.

Smiling sarcastically, she turned around to face him. "Just not cool enough to associate with at Tree Hill High, huh?" Shaking her head as if she pitied him, she said, "You know what? I feel sorry for you. Would Taylor have done the same for you?" When the answer obviously flashed across his face, she turned and left.

Nathan sighed in defeat and plopped down in the seat she had left vacant not long ago. Of course, Taylor would have done that for him…_right_?

**xxxxxx**

"Hi Haley. Cool hair." The girl winked.

That was the third random student today to say hi to her. The winning shot in Saturday's game had won her a starring role in Tree Hill High's spotlight. It was amazing how many people knew her name. They'd never bothered before but now all of a sudden, she was evolving into some kind of weird…known kid.

"Athlete Girl, you're so popular!" Brooke squealed happily. "Especially with that hair, compliments of B. Davis of course." She smiled proudly.

"Ugh. Who cares? Popularity is for jerks." Haley rolled her eyes and stopped in front of Whitey's office. "Wait here, I have to see Whitey really quick. I have to get a copy of the latest plays we're going to be brutally executing in practice." She sighed and walked in the door.

Brooke examined her self-done manicure while she was waiting for her friend when she felt something hit her new boots too hard. She looked down and saw a basketball and then when she looked up, she grimaced. There was Rachel, eyeing her with a malicious look. "Problem, Plastic?" Brooke asked when she stared for too long.

"No. Just wondering how it feels to be so overweight." Rachel smiled fake.

"Oh, well that's too bad. I thought you were wondering how it felt to not melt around fire." Brooke's smile matched hers. "Let me just tell you, it feels really good."

"You are so pathetic, Brooke. I see the way you look at Lucas. Never." She tilted her head to the side and looked seriously. "He wants a real woman."

Brooke snorted. "Which is so not you. I've played with Barbie's who've had less fake body parts than you, Franken-bitch." Her smirk turned wry. "Nice game, by the way. Wasn't that _my_ Haley making all of _your_ shots?"

Rachel grinned tightly. "You're right, it was. But she's not going to be _your_ Haley much longer, Brooke. It all changes when people you never knew start accepting you and knowing your name. Friendships start falling apart when you and your friends just don't belong in the same crowd anymore." She shook her head in mock sympathy. "You're just going to be running around the halls of Tree Hill High all by yourself while Haley's made a new batch of friends."

"Haley wouldn't do that." Brooke said unsurely.

"That's what you think." Rachel sneered.

Lucas walked up behind Rachel. "Rach? What are you doing?"

Rachel turned around and smiled. "Nothing. Just…talking to Brookie over here." She said brightly before she leaned up and kissed him.

Haley narrowed her eyes at the redhead as she came from the room with Whitey. "Yeah, sure you were. You know, when are you gonna get a life and stop harassing people?"

Rachel glowered. "You're one to talk, thief. You stole my position on the team and you say I'm harassing?" She asked heatedly.

"No, correction. You gave it to me with that weak ass jump shot of yours." Haley smirked.

Rachel grunted and turned to Lucas. "Let's go." She walked off without even waiting for him, too pissed off to care.

Lucas shook his head and looked towards Haley before looking at Brooke, longer than necessary. "I'm sorry about her." He said to Brooke. "She's…weird."

Brooke nodded in shock, words wouldn't seem to leave her mouth. "Class. I have class." She made an irritated face, which was meant for her before she shook her head and rushed off. _I choked!_She mentally screamed at herself.

"Wow." Haley laughed and shook her head before starting to follow her. _So much for Brooke using her opportunities to her __advantage_, she thought.

"Hey, good game." Lucas called to her, stuffing a hand in his pocket.

Haley turned her head to face him in mild confusion. "Thanks."

Lucas sighed. "Look. About Nathan…"

"Who?" Haley feigned ignorance. "I know of no one by that name."

Lucas chuckled and shook his head. "He's an idiot."

Haley smiled wryly. "I don't think you had to tell me. Nathan wears it on his forehead."

Lucas uncertainly stepped closer to her. "I know you guys had a little…friendly connection or whatever it was that night. He just doesn't want to hear Taylor's annoying voice all day. She can go on and on." His hand opened and closed like a mouth and he rolled his eyes slightly.

Haley nodded as they oddly fell into a walk together. "First of all, there was no connection. There was a momentary act of insanity on my part." She corrected him quickly. "And second, I could care less about what Taylor does and if she goes on and on. If you haven't gotten the recent memo, I hate her."

He laughed softly with a nod. "I think I got that memo with your attempt to dye our clothes and hair different colors of the rainbow. I was wearing my favorite pants that night, you know." He pouted, playfully seeking an apology.

Haley feigned a sad face. "My apologies." She said dryly.

Lucas shook his head. "You're not very nice, are you?"

"To other people, yes. To those of your little 'posse'," she used lazy quotations, "I think I'll pass on the manners my mother taught me."

He stopped walking and smiled at her. "Well, tell Brooke I'm sorry about Rachel for me."

"You tell her." Haley suggested, a small smile on her face. Brooke would have a heart attack.

His eyes squinted thoughtfully. "I will." He said decidedly. Then, he pointed a finger at her as he walked backwards. "Nice hair, by the way."

Haley narrowed her eyes teasingly. "Thank you, Lucas." She watched him walk off before shaking her head and turning around, catching the eyes of the Scott brother with the dark hair. They held each other's gaze for a moment before she rushed off.

When he looked back into his locker, he was wondering what the hell her and Lucas had been so friendly about when he felt familiar hands cover his eyes. "Guess who?"

"Uh, Jessica Simpson?" He playfully wished.

She hit his back with an open hand. "No, asshole. Even better." When he turned to her, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Where've you been lately?"

"You know where I've been, Tay." He chuckled. "School, community service, home." He listed tiredly.

"I think you're brother's going totally crazy." She announced, dropping her hands. "I just saw him talking to Haley." She shook her head as if Nathan should've screamed in horror at her revelation. "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah." He shrugged and turned back to his locker. "So what?"

"So…that's gross. He has to soak in bleach before he comes over to my house again." She giggled.

"Why can't he talk to her?" He mumbled, curious about the situation but not for the same reasons Taylor was.

"Uh, because she's the scum of the school!" She screeched. "And Rachel would so kill him! That's just…" She grimaced and put a hand out. "Ew!"

"Yeah, well, maybe everybody doesn't think like you." Nathan informed, closing his locker and turning to her.

"What? You wanna talk to her, too? Follow your big brother around?" She teased shamelessly, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It's not about her. It's about anyone. He can talk to whoever he wants. He shouldn't have to answer to you or Rachel for it." He fumed without a real reason as they began walking down the hall.

Taylor shook her head and crossed her arms. _What was getting into her friends_, she thought. "You sound like Peyton, who I'm so not talking to right now." Her face lit up in recognition. "Did I tell you what she did? Oh, you saw what she did at the game. She totally passed that bitch the ball like a hundred times. We're so not cool anymore. I should make Tim like, totally dump her so she can look like a loser just like her new BFF Haley! Ha, those bitches don't stand a chance…" She rambled on.

There it was. That annoying, screeching sound. Nails on a chalkboard. Nathan rolled his eyes and tried to drown her out. Would it be rude if he threw his hands up to his ears and ran off screaming? _Yeah, maybe it would_, he told himself. He reluctantly glanced at her while she talked and talked with no desire to ever stop. He slipped his hands in the pockets of his sweater. Maybe if he could sneakily slip his I-Pod on…

**xxxxxx**

Brooke put her hand to her heart and dishonorably shook her head. "I can't believe I acted like that. 'I have class'." She recited shamefully. "I must've looked like such an idiot. It's just not me."

"At least he asked about you. Therefore, you should be prepared. Any day now, he's going to come up to you and apologize for the way Rachel was acting." Haley warned playfully.

Brooke bit her lip nervously. "I know. This calls for shopping." She pointed to Haley with the perfect solution.

"Without me, Tigger. I have practice, community service and the desperate need to not spend a day shopping with you." She smiled and moved to the side, dodging one of Brooke's playful swats.

Brooke rolled her eyes and smirked. "Fine. I'll just drag Jake along with me. He makes a better human mannequin anyway." She gloated.

Haley stopped a few feet in front of the gym and shook her head. "Send Jake my best wishes. I hope he makes it through."

Brooke stuck out her tongue. "Whatever. Later, Athlete Girl."

Haley waved at her and watched her run off towards Jake, then she turned to go towards the gym when Lucas came up to stand in front of her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "What is this? In less than a month, both of the Scott brother's approach me plus a straying blonde female of the Taylor posse. What are you gonna say now? That it's my fault we're strangers?" She said tiredly.

Lucas chuckled breathily, not entirely understanding her. "What?"

Haley shook her head dismissively and frowned at him. "Never mind."

Lucas glanced in Brooke's direction before thoughtfully looking back at Haley. "Is that her boyfriend?" She scowled deeply. "Or…your boyfriend?" He changed his question, due to her look of death. "Or…both of you guys' boyfriend?" He asked doubtfully, because she was giving him a scary look. He chuckled nervously, not sure what else there was he could do.

Haley lightened her grimace and shook her head. "First of all, ew! We do not share boyfriends and second, it's neither of our boyfriends. He's our friend. You know, it is possible for the opposite sex to be friends without having sex or experimenting or anything." She rambled.

Lucas nodded once and glanced over at Haley before they slowly started walking next to each other. "So both of you guys are single?" He asked intuitively.

Haley scoffed and stopped walking. "Okay. This is weird."

"What?" Lucas shrugged innocently.

"Why are you talking to me?" Haley asked flat out.

Lucas shrugged unsurely. "I don't know. I guess you're not as stuck up as Taylor made us believe."

"What?!" Haley was shocked. _She_ was stuck up? Was this a joke?

"I don't want to gossip or anything, it's just what I heard. And then when Nathan told me that he hung out with you and you were pretty cool…" He shrugged again. "There's never too many cool people in your life, right?" When she didn't answer, he sighed. "Besides, who else dyes my girlfriend's hair different colors and lives to talk about it?" There were a few other reasons, but he didn't have to give her all of them.

Haley's eyes narrowed. "So what makes me think you're not like Nathan?"

He held out his hands, motioning to the many pupils walking amongst them. "We're talking in public, right?" He laughed breathily.

Haley looked around before smiling softly at him. "I guess you're right." She admitted reluctantly.

"I am." He smiled back at her.

"Hey Luke! Let's go!" Nathan called from a distance.

Haley and Lucas both turned to see Nathan, who had an involuntary scowl on his face. Haley smirked and looked up at Lucas. "Well, the real world calls. Later, Lucas Scott." She said the name, obviously mocking him.

"Later." He jogged over to meet his brother, holding the one strap to his backpack in place as he did. "Hey."

"Hey." Nathan grumbled. "What were you talking to Haley for?"

"I met her this morning. She's pretty cool." Lucas looked away, hoping to hide the smug grin on his face.

"What? You like her or something?" Maybe he sounded a little meaner than he should've, he thought. But oh well, he was having a bad day.

"Yeah. She's nice." Lucas nodded. "I think I might hang out with her or something." He knew he was getting on Nathan's nerves with his words, but his brother deserved it. Being a jerk to her the other day was way out of line.

"Yeah." Nathan scoffed. "What about Rachel?" He asked as they made it to the car.

Lucas shrugged nonchalantly. "What about her?" He gave his brother a knowing look.

Nathan rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Whatever, dude."

**xxxxxx**

Haley swiped the sweat from her face with her jersey and took a deep breath before catching the ball that Peyton had effortlessly thrown to her. She ran to dunk the ball but Taylor purposely tripped her, sending her flying to the ground. Haley laid there for a moment, accepting the rest that laying on the floor was giving her, but soon she was fuming. _No more misses nice girl_, she was about to pound the bitch.

"Taylor! What the hell was that?!" Whitey boomed. "Get on the bench!"

Haley was already to her feet. "How about _I_ bench you, bitch!" She made her way towards her, but several of the teammates held her back, Peyton being one of them.

"She's not worth it." The blonde whispered.

Haley turned to her, eyeing her oddly. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She almost yelled.

"I don't know, I guess," she shrugged with a soft smile, "I don't have anything against you."

"Sure you don't." Haley rolled her eyes. "What is it with you people? I help win one game and you guys are all befriending me?"

Peyton crossed her arms with a smirk. "I think it has more to do with the cool hair."

Haley shook her head and dropped her head. "This is crazy."

"Yeah, it is. But it's life. You don't have to be my friend. I really don't care. I just thought you were cool. A lot cooler than Taylor." She glanced at the girl. "She's a bitch."

"Then why do you hang out with her?" Haley questioned.

Peyton shrugged. "Because I can. Because my boyfriend's friends with her boyfriend." She shrugged again. "Many different reasons."

Haley wiped at her forehead with her hand and then propped her hands on her hips. "Cool by association. Aren't you lucky?" Haley chose that moment to walk around the girl.

But Peyton turned to face her back. "Get used to it, Haley. A lot more people are going to start knowing your name. A lot more people are going to be talking to you than normal. We live in Tree Hill." She smirked when Haley looked back at her. "Basketball city. You're _really_ important, now."

Haley watched the blonde jog away, processing her words. Were they true? Was she turning into one of the people that she hated? Whitey blowing his whistle broke her out of her thoughts. _Basketball_, she said to herself. _Think basketball_.

**Xxxxxx**

Nathan snuck another look at Haley before bending down to pick up an old discarded piece of trash. She still hadn't said another word to him—and why it was bothering him, he'd never know. He hated this. He didn't know why this was happening, but it irked him that she would talk to Lucas and not him. They were the same, weren't they? Both friend's of Taylor, both hung out with the same people—except he had embarrassed her in front of her most hated enemy, but that was the past. It was a new day…_right_?

Just as he decided that he would try to spark a conversation with her, a familiar black car pulled up to the park. His eyes narrowed and then widened as he realized who it was. He looked over at Haley, wanting to warn her but he couldn't find the words. All he could say was…

"Haley?"

She looked tiredly towards him and he nodded his head towards the guest. She looked to him and frowned. "What the—?"

"Haley James," Clarence cackled, "It's a pleasure. For you, not for me, that is."

"Hey, we're just trying to do our job and get out of here." Nathan stepped beside her.

Clarence pursed his lips. "Nathan. Wow. I guess you have a knack for the James breed." He winked at the boy. "I'd stick to your first choice if I was you." He lowered his voice as if he was telling him a secret.

"What do you want, Clarence?" Haley sneered tiredly.

"I want to offer you a deal. Quit the team and I won't make your life a living hell. Taylor has worked a lot harder for this than you have and I'm not going to let you steal it all away from her." He suddenly turned cold.

Haley scoffed. "You can't affect my life, Clarence. All you did was help bring me here. I think that was enough."

He pointed a finger at her. "I'm warning you. Quit the team." He seethed.

Haley smirked and crossed her arms. "No." She said simply.

Clarence snorted and shook his head, hoping to contain some of his anger. "What? Do you think playing on the team gives you meaning to the world? It doesn't." He revealed acidly. "You're still useless. Pathetic." He spat. "Just like your mother. Good for one thing and one thing only." A sick smile spread across his face. "A nice roll in the sheets for the first guy that tells you pretty things."

Nathan stepped up then. "Whoa, Mr. James. You are way out of line." He glared. "Get out of here." He ordered sternly.

Clarence eyed him silently before saying, "I'll be sure to inform Taylor of your little heroic acts, Nathan. I'm sure she'll be…surprised." Nodding his head at the boy, he then walked off.

Nathan watched him leave before sighing and turning to Haley. "Are you alright?" He asked with true concern.

Haley frowned at him and nodded quickly. "I'm fine. You didn't have to do that, Nathan." She said seriously. "Really." She enunciated.

"It's cool." He shrugged with a sheepish grin. "That guy's a dick anyway."

Haley forced a smile before walking away from him. "Thanks." She deadpanned over her shoulder.

"Haley, wait." He called after her. "Look, I'm really sorry about what I did. Seriously." He started.

"Nathan, save it." She held up her hand sternly. "I don't need your apologies. I don't need anything from you." She began ranting on. "I don't need you standing up for me with…him," she motioned her hand towards the way that Clarence had driven off, "I don't need you _complicating_ things with Taylor just to talk to me at school." She sighed sadly and shook her head at him. "I only need one thing from you."

Nathan looked more scared than anxious to hear her answer. "What's that?"

Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed. "I just need you to stay out of my life. I have a lot of things going on and I don't need any extra drama." She rolled her eyes and walked away.

Something kept telling Nathan since the day he blew Haley off that it was a big mistake. He didn't know why or even how it ended up mattering to him, but it did and it was bugging him. Especially because she was all talky-talky with Lucas earlier but blew him off like he was the plague. He snorted and shook his head. Fine, who cared. She wanted him to stay out of her life, so he would, he decided halfheartedly.

He would. _Stay out of her life_, he recited to himself.

_Stay out of her life_, he repeated to himself a few hours later when Chase came to pick her up and on his way to his car he could hear the words and Chase's tired apologizes. He rolled his eyes at the guy's words, wanting to just pull Haley to the side for a minute and tell her that he was just saying that because he wanted to get in her tight fitted jeans tonight. He wanted to tell her that the guy was saying the words that girls liked to hear when they were having a crappy day and just needed some comfort.

"Hales, you know I love you." Chase murmured as he pulled her in a hug.

"I love you, too." Haley said just above a whisper, briefly catching Nathan's eyes afterwards.

Quickly he looked away. Nathan couldn't help but feel like she didn't mean the words. They sounded empty and hollow and it was all too familiar, he reminded himself. Maybe Haley hadn't noticed that the words held no real emotion because they'd come from her mouth and she'd probably been saying them for so long.

_Stay out of her life_, he warned himself.

**xxxxxx**

Haley strolled lazily into the café, knowing that it was just a few minutes away from closing time and that her mother would probably be exhausted. Brooke had planned to meet her there and they were going to finish the place so they could steal some extra food and hang out for a little bit. She smiled sleepily when she spotted Brian sitting at the breakfast nook. She rolled her eyes playfully and propped her hand under her chin when she sat next to him. "Mom has you waiting up for her, huh?"

"Yep." He nodded. "You know me, I'm always going to be waiting up for your mother." He smiled sheepishly.

"One day she'll come around." Haley patted his hand with a caring smile. "Trust me. Or I'll just hire you some girl to fake-date and make her jealous." She laughed softly.

"That always does the trick." He playfully agreed.

"Yeah." She nodded and her smile faded a little. "You know, your favorite brother came to visit me today." She announced, looking away from him.

Brian's amusement quickly drained. "What?"

"Yeah, he warned me to quit the team…or else." She laughed half-humorously and glanced up at him.

"Don't let him get to you, Hales. He's trying to get into your mind." He warned seriously.

"I know. Just don't tell Mom. She'll flip out and probably go burn his law firm down." Her giggle was short lived.

"I won't. Are you okay?"

She waved a dismissive hand. "I'm fine."

He nodded in relief. "But I am going to go talk to him." He informed her quietly. "You're like a daughter to me, Hales. I'm not going to have that jackass messing with you."

She put a hand up. "Just don't kill him. I can't have you going to jail right now. You just came back." She joked softly.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on going to prison until your seasons over." He joked back and they laughed as the bell jiggled over the door.

They both looked to the door, Haley expected it to be Brooke, but instead, her eyes narrowed considerately at the visitor. "Lucas?"

He closed the door hesitantly, as if he was contemplating walking back out. "Hey." He smiled nervously. "Are you busy?"

She glanced at Brian before shaking her head. "Uh, no. Not at all. We're about to close, though." She added quickly.

"Yeah, I didn't come to eat. I just came to get away from the house." He smiled nervously and glanced at Brian before looking back to Haley.

Brian got the hint, he scooted out of his seat. "I'm going to see if your mom needs any help back there." Politely, he smiled at Lucas before disappearing in the back.

Haley laughed nervously. "Uh, this is a…surprise. What are you doing here?"

He took a seat next to her and shook his head. "Nothing, really. Nathan and my dad are kind of at it right now. I just like to get away from it when I hear it." He shrugged, looking down at the counter he rested his hands on.

"Is it that bad?" She wondered lightly, feeling a little sorry for Nathan, though she'd never admit it.

"No, it's worse." He gave her a sympathetic look. "But Nate's strong. He can deal with it without flipping out, you know?"

Haley nodded briefly. "So, what are they arguing about?"

Lucas laughed lifelessly. "What don't they argue about?"

Haley was silent before she tightened her eyes. "So why come here? This is like, the first time you've ever been here."

He gave her a side look before forcing an edgy smile. "Nathan kinda…told me what your father did today."

She was confuse-stricken. "Okay, tell me why you guys sit up and discuss me again? I missed the part where I actually started mattering in your perfect little lives."

"You'll have to ask Nathan that." He muttered with a slight roll of his eyes. "But I just… I wanted to ask you to be a little lenient with him from now on."

"What? Me?" She scoffed, pointing a finger to her chest. "You've got to be kidding. He's the one who brushed me off like I was some unworthy peasant."

"Yeah, well, Nathan can be stupid sometimes." He defended weakly. "If you got to know him, you'd see that." He offered kindly.

"Well, I don't want to get to know him. I tried, remember?" She reminded ruthlessly. "He's the asshole." She glanced away from him briefly before shaking her head. "Why can't it go back to normal? I never spoke to him, he never spoke to me. I can erase our little crazy moment together from my mind if he's willing."

"That's why I'm asking you to be lenient, because he's not willing to do that." He told her insightfully.

She stared at him for a moment, wondering what things he wasn't telling her. "What does he say about me?" She questioned shyly.

Lucas failed to suppress his light laughter. "'Oh, Haley has cute hair. Haley as a killer jump shot.'" He mimicked in Nathan's voice, even attempting to contort his face like his brother's.

Haley laughed, swatting him on the shoulder. "Shut up, he does not."

Lucas pointed at her. "Those aren't exact quotes, but that was basically the context."

She laughed, covering her mouth and leaning towards him. "That is so weird. Why?" Her face scrounged up in confused amusement.

Lucas shrugged halfheartedly. "You're the new 'it' in Tree Hill. Everybody's talking about you."

"They're not saying I have cute hair." She teasingly reminded, leaning back on the counter. "So, if Nathan's so deserving of my lenience, why is he with someone like Taylor? Usually people I get along with don't hook up with whores like her." She crossed her arms and put a finger to her chin. "Which is so weird because you're totally dating Taylor's stunt double and we're getting along."

He let out a small grunt. "Things have to change sometime."

Haley shook her head, getting a little more serious. "But Taylor's an unfaithful bitch. Not that I care but, what does he see in her?" Even Chase's friends knew about Taylor and her wild conquests and they were college kids. "Do guys ever look past the boobs and nice asses?"

Lucas shrugged again, putting on a dubious expression for emphasis. "Nobody wants to be alone, right?" It was the only answer he could think of.

Haley stared at him intensely, wondering if for a brief second he was talking to her with that comment. He probably wasn't, he hardly even knew her, but why did she feel like that applied to her and her Chase situation. For some reason, she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Dating for convenience, huh?" She stated evenly.

Lucas gave her a thoughtful gaze. "I think we all do that until we find someone we really want to be with."

Haley forced a smile and kept her hold on his eyes, as if to prove that he wasn't speaking about her. "I guess so."

Neither of them noticed as they went on about less-serious topics that Brooke stood in the window watching, afraid to walk in. Lucas was sitting there talking to Haley like they'd known each other forever and she was left on the outside looking in. Maybe that's how it would be since Haley was joining a more popular crowd. Looking down at her boots, she decided to walk away. _Maybe Rachel had been right after all._


	4. There Must Be Something in the Water

**Thanks for all the great reviews. I love that you guys like this. So here we go...we're almost to the juicy parts...lol.**

**R/R**

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JUST ONE SHOT 

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**Chapter 4**

**There Must Be Something in the Water**

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Haley swung into the doorway of Brooke's bedroom, prepared to see her adding the last touches to her makeup but instead, she saw a lump under the sheets. She instantly frowned. "Uh, am I in the right room?"

"Go away." She mumbled from beneath her purple comforter.

Haley glanced at Jake who was making his way up the stairs. "Something's wrong."

Jake looked worried and rushed to look inside. "Brooke, what's wrong?"

"Go. Away." She said again, huffing afterwards.

Haley shook her head. "Brooke, I don't know what you're going through but you have to come to school today."

"Why?" Brooke finally threw the covers off of her face and looked up.

Haley grinned widely. "Lucas is going to meet my friends today." Her brows wriggled. "And…he asked if you were single…twice I might add, even though the first time was kind of weird…and, I quote, he said you were hot." Haley bit down on her bottom lip, expecting to here a shriek.

Brooke's eyes nearly bulged from her head. "Wait, what?! You were talking about _me_ last night?!"

"Yes!" Haley answered happily and then frowned. "Wait, how do you know that if you never showed up?"

"That's not the point." Brooke said seriously, standing to her feet. "I…I have to take a shower and get dressed. I have to look my best." She panicked, running around her room. "I have so much to do, so little time!" She threw the tank top off of her body and into the oblivion of her room.

Jake put his hands up and turned his head hysterically. "Ah, Brooke! My eyes!"

Haley laughed and flopped down on the bed. "Brooke, you can't go all topless around Jake. He's never seen real boobs before." She joked, dodging a pillow as Jake tossed it at her.

"I've seen a lot more boobs than you know." He smirked, sitting in a chair next to Brooke's computer.

"That time you saw Rachel skinny dipping doesn't count." Haley said casually pointing to him. "Her boobs are fake."

"You guys! Forget about boobs right now!" She said running out of the closet. "Haley, find me something to wear. Something that says I'm available and conservative and not a whore," she stuck her finger up to hush any comments that were coming on and narrowed her eyes, "and don't you dare object to that last one, you two." She warned.

Haley stood up. "Okay, how about jeans and a shirt?" She shrugged, hoping that her simple idea was the solution.

"Athlete Girl, I can't just wear any jeans and shirt, it has to be_ the_ jeans and shirt."

"It will. It'll be _the_ jeans and shirt I pick out." She smiled wryly and pushed the brunette towards her bathroom. "Go take a shower and trust me, okay? I have a little Brooke Davis in me, I can pick something you wouldn't cringe at wearing."

"Okay." Brooke reluctantly went to start the shower. "Don't disappoint me, Haley!" She yelled before closing the door.

Haley looked over at Jake and sighed. "Okay, I have no idea what to pick. Jake, you're good at this. You pick something." She waved towards the closet desperately.

Jake tightened his eyes at her as he stood up. "Don't ever tell anyone I'm good at this, Haley. I'll kill you." He put a finger to his chin and glanced in her closet. "Now, in the famous words of Brooke, we have to find something that screams how much freedom rocks." He rolled his eyes at Haley as she laughed and disappeared in her closet. Moments later, he spoke. "Aha, I've got it." He walked out of the closet holding the clothes.

Haley looked on approvingly. "Wow, Jake. You really are gay."

**x****xxxxx**

"Okay, how are you and Lucas so cool now anyway?" Brooke wondered, smiling happily as they walked towards the lunch area. She wore a long brown tunic shirt with only one strap, which was covered by a small mini jacket that matched her light blue fitted jeans, her outfit being topped off with brown fur boots, adorned by gold hoops and a gold waist belt…Jake didn't do so bad. The clothes hung to her body in all the right places.

"We just kind of click," Haley shrugged and eyed Brooke's outfit again, "but I honestly think you've rubbed off on Jake a little too much."

"I taught him the tricks of female fashion." She said proudly. "And he serves me pretty damn good." She spotted Lucas and slowly came to a halt. "Oh no, Haley, there he is," she turned away and fanned her face quickly, "what should I do?"

"Act human for once." Haley rolled her eyes and smiled at Lucas. "Lucas, this is Brooke. Brooke, Lucas." She announced as he walked up.

Brooke smiled brightly. "Hi Lucas. I know you already but," she shook her head, choosing against that subject, "I mean, I don't _know you_, know you, but I know you." She nodded and smiled wider. "Hi."

Lucas laughed—a little nervously at that. "Hey. You look great today." He smiled at her, somehow forgetting about Haley until she cleared her throat.

"Should I leave you two alone?" At that moment, Jake approached them with a teasing smile towards Brooke. "And this is Jake, who isn't neither of our boyfriends." She clarified.

"What?" Jake asked confused, but his question was ignored.

"Yeah, I know. We have Trigonometry together." Lucas recognized the boy.

"Yeah, we do." He looked towards Brooke who was a light shade of red. He feigned a concerned face. "Brooke, are you okay? You seem a little flushed." He teased with a straight face.

She glared at him quickly as if to hide it from Lucas. "I'm fine, thank you." She gritted with a forced smile.

Haley suppressed her laugh. "Well, if that's all…" She started.

"Hey, Brooke. Sorry about Rachel yesterday." Lucas started, stepping closer to the girl. "She's a bitch sometimes."

"Just when she's breathing." Haley said sarcastically, but was only heard by Jake who smiled at her.

"It's okay." Brooke lied. "I don't really want to talk about her." She smirked suggestively.

Haley knew it was wrong, the guy had a girlfriend—but was it wrong that she was enjoying watching Brooke hit on him, even though his girlfriend was on the other side of the lunch area? And if she didn't know any better, she'd say Lucas wasn't being so subtle either…

"Yeah, we don't have to talk about her at all." Lucas answered, sneakily raking his eyes over her body before forcing a nervous half smile her way.

Haley and Jake looked at each other before looking away from each other, on the verge of exploding in laughter at the two. "Speaking of annoying redheads, she's looking at you like she's going to kill you." Haley acknowledged over his shoulder. All four of them glanced back at her and she was as red as her hair.

Lucas grimaced. "Wow."

"Red really isn't her color. I tried to tell her that with the hair and now she's just going full crimson." Brooke shook her head in mock pity and smirked up at Lucas. "You might want to go over there if you want to still be living tomorrow."

"Hey," he held out his arms, "A guy can have friends, right?"

Haley nodded one proud time as Jake threw his arm around her shoulders. "Right. You know, I like the way you think, Luke. You should pass that on to family members of yours who weren't graced with such successful brain cells." They all smiled and laughed, walking off to a nearby table.

Rachel turned to Taylor with a pensive stare. "What are we gonna do?"

Taylor narrowed her eyes at the four, obviously planning revenge. "This is the first time he's even talked to Brooke, it's not Brooke." Taylor falsely guessed.

"What?! Well, they were just eyeing each other like slabs of meat!" She nearly shrieked. "Taylor, this is so not good! Ever since that bitch joined the team—"

Taylor motioned to where Lucas and Haley were talking. "He likes her." Taylor said, not sure if it was true or if she was trying to reassure herself. The weird way Nathan had been acting, she was starting to believe he liked her and vice versa.

Rachel made the most disgusted face. "Okay, ew! What does he see in her that I don't have? I'm like…ten times better, right?!" She questioned frantically.

Nathan, Tim and Peyton walked up to the two. "Hey, what's up?" Nathan said to his girlfriend, kissing her quickly on the cheek. "Where's Luke?"

Taylor nodded her head towards the traitor softly. "Right. There." Her eyes were evil as she looked at the group.

Nathan, Peyton and Tim all turned to see him and Haley engaging in what seemed like playful banter from afar. Peyton laughed in amazement. "Wow, that's so cool." She laughed.

Taylor and Rachel turned to look at her. "What?!" They said in unison.

"What? It is." She shrugged innocently.

"There's nothing cool about my boyfriend talking to that…trash!" She grunted in frustration and plopped down next to Tim. "I'm going to get Haley back for this, I promise."

"Okay, obviously he likes Brooke." Nathan stated, sounding like it should've been the most obvious thing though it wasn't. "He's sitting next to her, not Haley." He then realized that in some weird Taylor-ish way, he'd just defended Haley. "I mean, that's not any better," he started, clearing his throat, "but I mean, you shouldn't have to get any of them back, Lucas knows what he's doing."

Taylor narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "What? Do you like those freaks?"

"No. I don't like those freaks." He said tiredly. "What do you mean, like those freaks? She's not—" Nathan caught his words and shook his head. "She's not important to me."

Peyton rolled her eyes at how weak he was. "Whatever, I'm out of here." She said grabbing Rachel's untouched water bottle from the table.

Taylor put her hand up to Peyton's chest. "I'm starting to think you're a freak just like Lucas turned out to be."

Peyton smiled sweetly. "I'm starting to think that you shouldn't put your hands on me, bitch." She said cheerily and then cocked her head to the side, standing her ground.

Tim frowned. "Hey, Peyt. What's wrong with you?"

As if finally fed up, she turned to them with a scathing look. "_You_ guys are, obviously. I mean, you set these rules for our little group and think that we're supposed to abide by them, when you guys don't. When its not even right or fair or…" Peyton motioned towards them. "Taylor, you _know_ you haven't been living by them, so why do you expect Nathan to?" She looked to Rachel and scoffed. "And you don't even have room to talk."

"Get away from us." Taylor seethed. "I guess we're enemies. So leave."

Peyton smiled. "Happily." She shook her curly blonde head.

Tim stood up abruptly. "Peyton, if you leave…"

"Then I won't come back." She finished giving him a tired nod. "It was nice dating you, T-Man." She teased lightly before shaking her head in pity at the group and running over to where Lucas, Haley, Brooke and Jake were.

Nathan watched them laughing and talking almost all lunch period. Lucas and Haley were looking a little more lovey-dovey than they should've, he thought to himself. Or maybe he was just…jealous? Whatever, he wasn't jealous, he told himself.

**x****xxxx**

"Well, thank you guys for walking me to class." Brooke said pointedly to Lucas. Jake had already rushed off to walk Peyton—his new secret crush—and now it was just her, Lucas and Haley.

"No problem, Brooke." He nodded his head and watched as she walked into class.

"She's nice, huh?" Haley asked slyly.

"Yeah," he answered hesitantly, "why are you asking me that?"

Haley shook her head innocently as they began walking. "Oh, no reason." She cleared her throat and looked up at him. "So why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" He questioned in confusion.

"Hanging out with us. I mean, we're not your typical crew." She observed lightly.

He shrugged and then looked down at her. "I'm actually…thinking about breaking up with Rachel."

Haley's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow."

"Yeah, don't say anything. I want to give it to her slow." He said lowly, knowing that the people among Tree Hill would blab if they heard him.

"Why?"

"She's just not…nothing's ever going to change." He sighed, settling for that. "I've been dating her for a year now and it's just like, she gets more annoying each day."

"You're just now realizing that?" She laughed lightly.

"No." He said simply. "But I found a reason to do something about it." Before she could ask him to elaborate, he nodded his head down a hallway. "I'm going this way. I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah, I guess so." She waved quickly. "Later Luke." She watched him walk off before continuing on her way where she heard someone call her from behind. When she turned around, she almost died when she realized that it was Rachel. The redhead ran up to with a bright smile.

"Haley, hey." She handed her a piece of paper. "Here's my address. I'm having a party Friday night after the game."

Haley was really confused now. "O-kay, and you're telling me because…."

Rachel exaggerated a sigh. "My boyfriend is obviously your friend now, and I know he probably wants you to come." She put on a fake smile. "I just want to make him happy. So I'll try not to be mean to you and at least try and be a little civil."

Haley glared. "Oh. Well, in that case, no." She shrugged. "I don't go to lame high school parties."

Rachel contained her anger and smiled. "Fine. But I just thought you'd want to go hang out with Lucas."

Haley narrowed her eyes. "You expect me to believe you're this cool about Lucas and me hanging out?"

The redhead smiled tightly. "Of course, I mean, what's there to be jealous of?" She asked with a small snort.

Haley heard the second meaning to that comment. It was obviously an insult. "You shouldn't be." Haley forced about. "Whatever." She handed the paper back. "I'm not going."

**x****xxxx**

"We're so going!" Brooke demanded happily. "Haley, really, joining the basketball team was the best thing you've _ever_ done!"

Jake laughed and shot the ball, making it effortlessly into the hoop. "Brooke, she doesn't want to go."

"But she is!" Brooke said sternly. "This is perfect. Lucas and I are going to be together in no time." She crossed her legs from her spot on the bench.

Haley rolled her eyes as Jake threw her the ball. Luckily, practice had been cancelled so they decided to go to the rivercourt. "Brooke, don't you think you're being a little vindictive lately?"

"No." She blinked. "You know how bad I want this, Athlete Girl."

"Yeah but, you don't have to go to a party to get his attention. He said he's dumping Rachel soon and that he found a _reason_ to break up with her." She wiggled her brows at Brooke before dodging Jake and slamming the ball in the hoop.

"Yeah, he totally likes you." Jake said to Brooke, though he was eyeing Haley in confusion, wondering how she'd gotten around him so easily.

"I don't know. What if the reason was Haley?" Brooke asked softly.

Haley missed that shot and frowned at her friend. "What? No!"

"Yeah, you guys talk all the time." Brooke slightly pouted.

"Which is exactly why I know he doesn't like me." Haley argued. "I'm like one of the guys in his eyes. Just like Jakey here is one of the girls." She teased him, stealing the ball from his hands as they continued to play.

"Are you sure?" Brooke asked a little more happily.

"Haley's right. I mean, not about me being one of the girls but, guys don't just sit there and talk to girls they like like that." He motioned to his opponent. "He'd be too nervous. Like he was around you." He said to Brooke.

"And like you were around Peyton?" Brooke asked knowingly.

"I don't like Peyton." He denied.

"And like Nathan is around Athlete Girl." Brooke continued.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're going to far, Mrs. Lucas Scott." She held up her hand in objection. "Nathan does _not_ like me, okay?"

"Oh Haley, come on. Why would he apologize day in and day out?" She queried.

"She has a point." Jake said, happy to get the heat off him.

"No, she doesn't." Haley refused to believe this.

"And he's always looking at Lucas like he's his worst enemy when he's talking to you." Brooke added cautiously.

"Because Lucas is a much better person than he is. If I were him, I'd be jealous too." She glared at her friends before glancing at her watch. "I have to go."

"Off to see Nathan, right?" Brooke teased.

Haley glared harder. "Brooke, do you value your life?"

Jake grabbed her by the arms. "Come on, Hales, I'll take you."

"And I'm going to walk home." Brooke said hopping down.

"Sure?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I need to get a new pair of pants for the party." She shrugged. She smirked as they walked towards his car. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Haley!"

"Sometimes I hate her." Haley mumbled to Jake as they climbed in.

**x****xxxx**

Nathan could feel himself wanting to ask her questions about her and Lucas' relationship. Every time he asked Lucas, he'd just say 'she's cool'. It was really starting to piss him off because he knew she was cool. Hell, he was the one who told Lucas she was cool. But that didn't mean he had to be all around her all the time. It was just really starting to piss him off. Was Lucas trying to prove a point or what?

"So you and Lucas…" He said which felt totally against his will.

Haley looked up from her book and frowned. "What about us?"

_Us_? Did she really just say that?! "He has a girlfriend, you know?" Okay, he really needed to stop before he made a complete ass out of himself.

"Taylor has a boyfriend, but that doesn't stop her from doing what she wants." Haley smiled dryly. "I think the only one that it really affects is you."

"What does that mean?" He frowned.

"Okay, you're like really…whipped or something." She said carefully.

He scoffed. "No, I'm not."

"Okay." She shrugged simply. "Then lets finish this conversation tomorrow at school. You know, I'll come over to your table and chat it up with you the whole time." She said sarcastically. Nathan looked down and she snorted. "That's what I thought."

"So you and Lucas are what?" He stood in front of her.

"We're friends." She said easily. "And he's really a good guy. I don't know how he and Rachel ended up together. He's good looking, nice, _hot_, nice," she went on, just to press his buttons—because she could feel that it would. In her very, _very_ secretive opinion--Nathan was way hotter. An ass, yeah. But a really hot ass.

Nathan narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't want to hear about you crushing on my brother, alright?" He snapped.

"I'm not crushing on your brother!" She scoffed disbelievingly. "I think you're just jealous because he has the guts to be who you want to be."

"And what's that?"

"_Himself_." She answered obviously. "You can't do that for some odd reason. You're scared of social humiliation or…whatever it is that you airhead's are afraid of." She waved her hand at him.

Maybe she could read him a little too well. "You don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, sure." She shook her head and looked down at her book again. "Because it's so hard to read you." She spoke sarcastically.

"You're not really a closed book either, Haley." He started drilling. "You just want to fit in like we do, so you join the basketball team to get noticed, you're hanging under Lucas like he'll open doors to popularity for you—which is really pathetic by the way."

She slammed her book closed and glared, standing up. "As opposed to you, right? I mean, you practically lick the ground Taylor walks on because she's your only hope in becoming someone."

"That's not true." He interrupted.

"Yeah, I think it is. You're Taylor James' boyfriend, and that makes you someone, right? I mean, you hang out with all the jocks and the cheerleaders. Popular by association, Nathan. That's all it is. But in the end, you'll realize that it never really mattered because this is just high school and this is just some stupid little town where the small population is obsessed with basketball!" She rambled, obviously, her words weren't directed to only him anymore. "You'll realize that there's this whole different world out there and no one's gonna care who you were when you were seventeen! This is just the beginning!" She was out of breath and heaving heavy when she stopped yelling.

He was a little taken back by her outburst but kept his cool. "It'll matter who _you_ were, won't it? I mean, to the scouts and all."

"Yeah," she said dryly, "I'm gonna make it through the rest of my life off of my jump shot."

He smiled crookedly, hoping to calm her down. "Which I think is a pretty good one."

"So I've heard." She mumbled to herself, turning around. "Don't talk to me, Nathan. Please."

"Why not?" He asked grimacing. He had hoped she was over that whole humiliation thing.

"Because you rattle my nerves and tomorrow, I have my first playoff game." She answered, gathering her stuff. "Then, oddly enough, I have a party to go to afterwards. But you can rattle my nerves then because I'll have liquor." She smiled wryly. "And liquor un-rattles my nerves."

"You're going to Rachel's party?" Now that was weird.

"Oddly enough, the shrew invited me." She threw her backpack over her shoulder and smiled forcedly.

"Don't go." He said quickly. "You really shouldn't."

"Why? Afraid you might accidentally say hi or something and be damned to unpopular damnation with the rest of us little people?" She rolled her eyes and tried to walk past him.

"No, no, just," he frowned, trying to find a way to warn her, "you and Rachel aren't exactly friends. Everyone's going to be there."

"I know. Wouldn't want to miss that, would I?" At first, she really hadn't been all that excited about going, but now she definitely was going to go, just to make his life a living hell. She knew why he was saying this, because she wasn't one of the 'cool kids'. To hell with them all.

"Do you really trust Rachel and Taylor?" He asked softly. "You don't know them like I do." He warned her.

She almost thought she saw true concern. "That's why I love my life." She glanced at her watch for the second time that day. "It's almost nine. See you tomorrow." She looked at him oddly before walking around him to leave.

"Bye." He sighed dejectedly.


	5. Having Just a Little Fun

**A/N: This chapter gets into some other subjects in the story. We get to look a little at Nathan's home life and Brooke might get on your nerves a little. But, I hope you all like it. It's kind of long.**

**Thanks for all the great reviews. It inspires me to write more. I really love reading them! **

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**JUST ONE SHOT**

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**Chapter 5**

**Having Just a Little Fun**

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**XxxxX**

Nathan smiled at his mother before swiping a pancake from the stack she had sitting out and folded it in half before biting into it. "Mornin' Mom." His mouth was half full.

"Nate." Deb smiled pertly. "Your brother already left."

"Why so early?" Nathan wondered with a little laugh.

"Something about picking some girl named Holly up to take her to school." She remembered.

Nathan glowered with a snort. "You mean Haley?"

"Yeah, as in Haley James." His father interrupted from the door. "She's trouble. I don't know why your brother's even hanging around her. I thought he was the only son I had with a sensible head on his shoulders." He quipped, glaring pointedly at Nathan.

Deb gave her husband a warning look. "Dan…"

"What?" He blinked innocently. "I'm just being honest." He said, opening a cupboard and grabbing a cup. "Clarence gave that kid up for a reason."

"Just because he's your friend doesn't mean you have to defend him." Nathan growled with a scowl.

"At least his _real_daughter has some sense." Dan scoffed. "The girl actually uses her athletic talents. You just let it go to waste."

"I don't want to play basketball, Dad." He lied. "Just because you did doesn't mean I have to."

"Why couldn't you be more like your brother?" He wished aloud. Lucas had actually played for a while until he blew out his knee, killing his chances of ever playing again. "At least he knew what was good for him."

_If you only knew_, he thought. "Whatever." Nathan sighed, grabbing his bag from the floor. "Bye Mom." He kissed her cheek quickly. "Love you."

"You too, honey." She replied sympathetically, watching him leave. Then, she glared at him pointedly. "Nice going, Dan." She sneered before spreading butter on her toast a little too hard.

**xxxxx**

She wasn't in that good of a mood, she decided after the talk with her mother that morning. Clarence was a complete asshole and he really was making her life, right along with her mother's a living hell. Apparently, Clarence had said or did something that was slowing down traffic at her mom's café—which wasn't all that great to begin with. Her mom had put her heart and soul into that business and he was ruining it because Haley wouldn't quit the team.

She offered to quit the team, but her mother refused saying—a direct quote—_we __can't__ let him win_. But if she had anything to say about it, he was winning. He was causing them even more financial turmoil than they already had. How she despised that man. Obviously, the talk Brian had told her he had with Clarence the other day hadn't really helped any, which was pissing Brian off further. He clearly hated seeing his 'two favorite girls' going through such a difficult time. He offered his help around the café and some advice that Haley was beginning to think twice about—_stay on the team, __don't__ let him win_. Haley snorted, that crap was for the movies.

And to make this day even worse, her history teacher had just informed her that she was failing another class. _What an f-__ing__ day_, she thought sarcastically. But she had to put all that behind her and focus on the now. She had a very important game tonight, which wasn't only important to her obviously as she scanned the halls of Tree Hill.

Haley walked through the crowded hall of Tree Hill High, glancing in slight fear at all the students. Today was game day and most of them had blue and white paint on their faces. When majority of them walked past her, they found it mandatory to yell "Go Ravens" in her face and zipping off in a crazed frenzy. It was official—majority of Tree Hill's population had gone crazy.

"I forgot how crazy it got during the playoffs." Jake shuddered as he made his way up to her.

"Whoooo Ravens!" A random guy yelped from the end of the hall. He had on a Letterman's jacket and she vaguely remembered him being from the boy's league. Their season started in a few months, she remembered as he ran up to her. "Are you gonna win the game tonight?"

Haley smiled dryly with one hand on the handle of her locker. "You bet."

He winked at her before smiling widely. "I'll be routing for you, James." He backed away before turning around and yelling something about the Raven's again.

Haley turned her head to Jake slowly. "Does he have any idea that I had no idea who he was?"

"That's Josh Graham. He's like, the best free throw shooter that the boy's league has." He reminded when the name hadn't rang a bell.

"I guess I didn't read the latest Tree Hill edition of Star magazine." She rolled her eyes.

"So you really wanna go to Rachel's party tonight?" He asked doubtfully.

She shrugged. "Yeah, why not. Chase is gone on some stupid football convention thing and I haven't been to one in a really long time." She briefly glanced at him while she stuffed books and necessities in her backpack. "Why? You're not?"

"I don't know…" He said indecisively.

She smirked. "Peyton's going."

"Yeah, I might." He changed his mind casually without missing a beat.

Haley laughed and shook her head before closing her locker. "I can't believe you traitors." She half joked.

"What?" He said defensively.

"You guys both start liking 'them'." She glowered playfully with quotations.

"Hey, technically Lucas and Peyton aren't 'them' anymore. And what can I say? Peyton's hot." He shrugged.

Haley laughed as they walked. "Those who are blinded by the blondes." She recited, smirking at his dangerous glare.

"She's cool too. She can draw. Did you know that?" He bragged about his knew interest.

"Yeah, because you only told me about five billion times." She rolled her eyes. "You and Brooke could make a deaf person contemplate cutting their ears off."

"Well, we are those who are blinded by the blondes." He copied, smirking at her. "We have that effect sometimes."

Just as she was about to reply, she heard someone calling her name. She turned to see Lucas walking with none other than her worst enemies little flunky. "Luke, hey." She greeted smiling.

"Hey." He said then turned to Jake. "We're still on for tomorrow, right?"

"Yep." He nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Haley glanced at Nathan quickly before forcing a bright smile at Lucas. "Are you going to Rachel's party?"

"Yeah." He answered slowly, shocked that she'd even thought about it. "Are you?"

"Yeah." She nodded with a laugh.

"Cool." He smiled. "I'm probably gonna do that thing we talked about there, remember?" He asked slickly.

It took a few seconds, but her face lit up in recognition. "Oh, yeah." _He was going to dump her_, she remembered with a smile. "Well, good luck with that."

"Thanks." He smiled and then looked to Nathan who was staring at Haley intently. "We're gonna go then."

"Okay." She waved. "Bye." After Jake said his low goodbye, she turned and was really surprised when she heard another voice call her name. She turned her head to him with a small frown. "Yeah?"

His soft smirk almost made her knees weak. "I guess I'll see you at the game then?"

She bit her bottom lip before nodding once and wordlessly turning and walking away with Jake.

Lucas chuckled and patted his brother's back. "I think you're a little too late for that one, bro."

"What?" Nathan was a little angry that she didn't say anything—but he'd done that to her. It was only right.

"Talking to her. You should've done that days ago, man." Lucas said as they were walking.

"What _thing_ did you tell her about?" Nathan asked irritated. They had secrets now, too?

Lucas smirked softly and waved a hand. "Oh it's nothing, I'll tell you later." They walked in silence for a bit and Lucas could tell Nathan was thinking. "You can't publicly diss someone you like and then expect her to be all cool about it a few days later. She's a girl, Nate."

"What should I do?" He asked his brother thoughtfully.

Lucas broke into a wide smile, knowing exactly what he meant. "So you _do_ like her?"

_Stupid_, Nathan berated himself. He hadn't even noticed that he didn't respond to that part of Lucas' comment. "No, I really don't. Not like that, anyway. I just want to be cool with her, you know?" Yeah, he hoped Lucas knew because he didn't really know. Did he like her that way? Lucas nodded quietly. "I don't think she should go to the party, Luke." He said after a moment of silence.

"Why?"

"Rachel and Taylor were talking about getting revenge on her for basically stealing you away." He explained quietly. "Rachel invited her and I think they're going to do something."

Lucas looked worried before stopping and looking around, as if in search of the culprits. "I'm going to talk to Haley and Rachel."

Nathan nodded in agreement. "Alright."

Lucas patted his shoulder. "Thanks, bro."

"Welcome."

**x****xxxx**

Rachel ran up to Taylor happily, handing the girl the folder in her hand after checking their surroundings. "Here it is."

Taylor smirked as she flipped through it. "Anything juicy?"

"Looks like Haley's a little more dumb than we thought." Rachel proclaimed, pulling out a copy of Haley's progress report. "The girl is failing almost everything but PE."

Taylor perked her brows. "Wow. That's cool." She nodded, flipping through Haley's file.

"And, she's on free lunch." She giggled, like it was the most embarrassing thing. "She's poor."

Taylor looked surprised before laughing aloud. "Are you sure the school doesn't know about this?"

"Yep. And," she started, crossing her arms over her chest victoriously, "if she doesn't get those grades up by next month, she's off the team."

It made Taylor giggle giddily. She shut the file and smirked. "Guess who's gonna be _so_ embarrassed tonight?" She questioned rhetorically. "And, I have a little surprise of my own for the bitch." She threw her arm around her best friend as they walked off.

**Xxxxx**

Nathan watched as she counted something off on her fingers and then scribbled it down. _She looks __really cute__ doing that_, he said in his head before he could stop himself. It was okay to think she was cute, _right_?

"I can feel you looking at me." She stated abruptly before looking up into his cobalt eyes. "Why do you do that?"

"Because, I'm worried about you." He shrugged uncomfortably.

"Why?" She looked confused.

"Because, I know Rachel and Taylor and they're planning on doing something to you tonight at the party." He breathed the words out, his eyes holding true concern.

Haley narrowed her eyes at him. "What are they planning to do? Kill me?"

"No, but they're good for public humiliation." He said, surprised she hadn't yelled at him for bringing it up. He sat cautiously beside her.

"Is that where you get that from?" She asked sardonically with a dry smile.

"Why are you going anyway?" He changed the subject quickly, hoping she wouldn't remember that she hated his guts.

"I promised Brooke." She sighed out, sitting back. "Lucas is going and she really likes him. Then Peyton's going and Jake sort of likes her now, so…" She shrugged, briefly glancing up at him.

"So why are you going?" He questioned again, this time with more confusion.

"To be there for my friends?" She asked hopefully, as if he had the answer.

"Haley," he started, "they really are going to do something bad."

"I'm sure it can't be any worse than Taylor tripping me all the time in practice." She snorted. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it."

"Rather than just avoid it?" He said softly.

"I promised Brooke I'd go with her." She said sheepishly. "She's my best friend. And besides, I'm not scared of Rachel or Taylor. Especially in the honor of my best friend." Haley shrugged shamelessly. "I think I'll roll with the punches for her." She grinned bashfully.

Nathan was somehow intrigued with how loyal she was. "She's lucky to have a friend like you." He concluded with a soft smile.

"Why are you being all nice?" She questioned cautiously.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uh, because I've been a bitch to you." She answered shyly.

"You had very good reason. I would've been a bitch to me, too." He laughed.

Haley laughed also. "You know, at first I was mad at you but I guess I just started getting so angry with myself because I let myself believe you were different."

Nathan looked down at his hands regretfully. "You know, Haley. If I could go back, I would have never done that to you."

"Why not?" She asked curiously, trying to ignore that feeling in the pit of her stomach telling her that they were slowly drifting into a 'moment'.

"I know I've only known you for a short time, but you're one of the best people I know." He said gazing at her seriously. "You give everybody a chance. Even if just one, you do. You're strong but you really want what's best for the people you care about and the people around you." He swallowed slowly, the way she was looking at him was making him feel a little weak. _Be a man_, he told himself. He threw on a sexy smirk and then shrugged. "And you're hot."

Haley laughed and broke their gaze, hoping he hadn't noticed the way she blushed. "Nathan," she started, looking down at her homework.

"What? You are." He insisted, bumping her shoulder. "I'm just really sorry about what I did, okay?" He said on a more serious note.

She nodded once. "What do you say we forget about it for now?"

He smiled, truly grateful. "I say that sounds good."

She knew he might still shun her off at school, but she wasn't worried about that anymore. She told Lucas she might cut him some slack, seeing as how he was supposedly having it rough at home, but something else told her to let him off easy, too. A little voice in the back of her head was saying that he'd come around—to what? She wasn't sure. However, something told her to give him another shot and he wouldn't let her down, not a second time.

"So where is your boyfriend? I don't see him anymore." He grinned at her as she closed her books. He couldn't believe she was actually talking to him, he needed to keep this going as much as he could.

"A football convention in New York." She smiled softly.

"He's a jock?" He questioned doubtfully. She didn't look like she'd like those types.

"Yeah. So?" She said slightly defensively. "I'm a girl!" She squealed as if that should've explained it all.

"Just didn't seem like you went for that type, that's all." He held his hands up. "When's he coming back?"

"Tomorrow night." She answered easily.

"So, you really don't have a thing for Lucas?"

"Uh, no! What's with the twenty questions?" She chuckled.

"Just making conversation." He defended again. Man, she was so pretty when she laughed. He hadn't seen her laugh a lot—well, when she was with Lucas, but hardly around him. Every time she was around him, she ended up scowling or trying to stab him with a pencil.

"I have to cut out of here early." She said glancing at her watch. "Can you like, not tell Andy?"

"Yeah, sure." He stood up when she did. "Good luck with the game tonight."

"Thanks." She smiled before gathering her things and walking off.

**Xxxxx**

Haley noticed somewhere close to the end of the fourth quarter that they were sitting in the bleachers. Sarah Teddy had fouled one of the Pinkerton's again and Whitey called her out of the game, sending Rachel in for the remainder of the time. Obviously, Rachel and Taylor saw Haley glancing towards their boyfriend's when they narrowed their eyes briefly before plastering on fake smiles.

It made her smile softly when she saw the two Scott brothers waving at her. She nodded her head at them and glanced at Peyton who was watching her with a grin. "What?" She asked slightly. At first, she hadn't know whether to trust the blonde or not, but Peyton was just so care free and funny that it was hard not too.

"Nothing. Just watching you watching Taylor's boyfriend." She chuckled before leaning over to rest her hands on her knees.

"I'm not." She declared, though she felt like she was lying. But she wasn't. She really wasn't watching them. She took the time that the sucky Pinkerton player shot her horrible free throws to catch her breath and wipe her sweaty face with the bottom of her jersey, watching as the lanky girl from the opposite team shoot another backboard shot, the ball bounced into the hands of Taylor.

She dropped her jersey and got open. "Over here!" She called. _Yeah __right, __like__ she'd really pass it._

Obviously, Taylor's stalling was pissing Peyton off. "Pass the ball, Taylor." She demanded as if she was the captain.

"I got it." Taylor gritted, running around the girl who was guarding her. She noticed when it was too late that the ball was stolen mid-escape from her offender. She cursed under her breath and ran to catch her, but obviously she was too late. Haley was already there, grabbing the ball easily from their opponent and tossing it to Peyton. The blonde dribbled it easily, smirking cockily at the opposing girl who'd just darted in front of her.

Haley glanced at the clock. It read that there was only eight seconds left. She knew God loved her then, because by the suggestive look on Peyton's face, she was going to pass her the ball and she was going to make the night's winning shot—again. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

As she predicted, Peyton pretended as if she was about to shoot the ball but skillfully passed it to Haley, who caught it and ran up to the hoop before doing a perfect lay-up. The crowd cheered and the buzzer went off, Peyton and Haley slapped their hands together, hugging each other lazily.

Taylor glared across the court at Haley, Rachel came up behind her friend and grabbed her arm as if to hold her back from attacking. "Tay, relax. She's going to the party. We'll get that bitch then."

That brought a smirk to her face. "You're right." She snuck a glance at her father—who was royally pissed by the look on his face—and looked away in what seemed like fear. "I can't wait to crush that bitch." She gritted, walking to the locker room with Rachel while the rest of the team celebrated on the court.

**Xxxxx**

"Good game, good game." Whitey patted the girls on the back as they filed out and then narrowed his eyes on two in particular. "James!"

Haley and Taylor looked up at him, Haley was pushing her arms through her shirt and Taylor was tying her shoes. They both didn't answer though, confused as to who he was calling.

"Both of you." He clarified, walking to his office. "Follow me."

Haley gave a skeptical look at Peyton who was across from her before grabbing her basketball bag and reluctantly following behind Taylor who had already started. When they got to his office—which he held the door open—he shut it and waved towards the chairs. "Have a seat." He ordered.

They glanced at each other blankly before listening and taking a seat. "What is this about?" Taylor finally demanded.

"We won the game." He said evenly. "Eighty-two to eighty-one." His eyes darted back and forth between the two sisters. "But I'm used to my team winning by much more."

"You should tell people to pass the ball more." Haley muttered, glancing evilly at Taylor.

"You and Sawyer were doing a good job of not passing the ball either tonight." He said casually, letting his eyes fix on her.

"Yeah, whenever we got the ball." She mumbled.

"That's not the point," his voice rose a little, "Now, you girls are gonna have to put all this other bull crap behind you when you're on my court or you're off my team."

Taylor frowned. "Coach, what the hell? This is my team."

"This is my team, girl! And I'm not gonna let you two's bickering destroy it!" He boomed, hitting his fist on the desk he sat behind.

Taylor jumped at his voice. "Don't pop a vein." She said quietly.

"I'll be popping your veins if you cost me a game due to your stupidity!" He glared at the two of them. "Whatever _beef_ you two are having, settle it _outside_ of my court."

Taylor had to smirk at that. "We will, Coach."

"If you ask me, you two are mad at the wrong people. You need to be mad at that father of yours." He gave them a stare, as if to silently enforce his words and then waved a hand. "Get out of my office."

Taylor hopped up quickly and Haley reluctantly followed, a little surprised to find Brooke, Peyton and Jake waiting for her outside the locker room doors. Brooke squealed as soon as she seen her. "You were great, Haley."

"Thanks." She mumbled with a modest smile.

"No really, you were." Jake added. "I taught you well."

"You play basketball?" Peyton asked him; obviously impressed.

"Not for Tree Hill or anything. But I play."

Brooke wrapped her arm around his waist, smiling up at him. "He's really good." She ensured.

"Yeah, just I'm better." Haley explained to the blonde casually.

Peyton laughed and shook her head as they all walked out. "Maybe you can show me a few of your moves sometimes, Jake." She suggested with a sexy smirk.

Jake swallowed nervously and nodded his head vehemently. "Sure." He squeaked and then cleared his throat. "I mean, sure." He said deeper.

Haley and Brooke laughed and he snuck a glare in there directions—where their expressions had suddenly shifted to innocent ones.

**Xxxxx**

So, she hated the bitch but the girl had 'banging' parties, only she didn't really know that many people there so it was kind of not 'banging' for her. Brooke, Jake and Peyton seemed to be having a 'banging' time. She watched them dance from her spot against the wall. She was doing okay, she was past being buzzed and Rachel and Taylor hadn't tried any of the 'evil plans' that Lucas and Nathan had been warning her about majority of the day. But, her time wouldn't be that good she knew, because Nathan and Taylor were ultimately going to make her puke.

She was sitting on his lap and drunk as hell—which meant not only was there PDA, but there was drunken _Taylor__ and Nathan_ PDA. She felt herself shudder, then she rolled her eyes away from school's little 'dream' couple. She _hated_ that bitch.

Not because she had Nathan or anything though—he was just too good for her, in Haley's opinion. Even though he had humiliated her in front of the bitches, she still didn't believe he was an all around ass. He was a guy—he did stupid things sometimes. Or maybe she was halfway to La-La Land and wasn't in her right mind.

"Lonely over here?"

"Not really. Just enjoying the booze." She raised her red, plastic cup slightly before downing the rest of it.

He laughed in minor amazement. "I take it you're a drinker."

"One of the best." She smiled, tossing the cup to the ground. _Who cared, it was only __Rach__-ho's house._

"Where's Brooke?" He questioned innocently, scanning his eyes over the crowd.

Haley pointed to a direct spot. "Right there with Peyton and Jake." She noticed that her voice slurred a bit and shook her head with a frown. _Yeah, __I'm__ nearly wasted_, she thought. "You should go talk to her. She came here for you, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." He sighed while watching her then looked to Haley. "But I kinda wanted to break up with Rachel first." He whispered.

Haley stuck out her bottom lip, pouting. "But it'd be so much better if you cheated on that skank with Brooke and then dumped her at school—lunch time is preferable—telling her that you'd fallen head over heels for Brooke—who has real boobs and a real nose by the way—and then go on about how much better Brooke is than her." Haley grinned, thinking of how happy Brooke would be if that really happened. "And then you should proceed to do Brooke on Rachel's lunch table." She said in finality.

Lucas laughed and looked down in his own cup—which was not nearly as empty as Haley's had been when he'd found her. "I'm not that cruel."

"You should be." She commented, glancing at Nathan and Taylor again who were engaged in a heavy lip lock. She rolled her eyes. "What's up with your brother?"

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, also glancing in that direction.

"He's being all nice and weird around me." She searched his face.

Lucas shrugged and conveniently took a swig of his beer. "Making up for lost time." He mumbled afterwards.

"What lost time? The three years we spent not even acknowledging each other?" She snorted before pushing from against the wall and going towards the kitchen with Lucas behind her. "Or the few days I stopped acknowledging him after he pulled his dick move?" She noticed the blonde boy's eyes fixated on her in modest shock. She flicked her hand at him. "Ignore me, I'm drunk."

"Just give him a chance," Lucas said tiredly, "and how many beers have you had already?" He asked when he realized her walking imbalanced, holding onto the walls for slight support.

"Luke, don't do that." She said over her shoulder. "I've been drinking for years. Before I even knew what high school was." She exaggerated with a smile, making it to the kitchen and pulling open the fridge.

He decided to leave it at that. "Has Rachel or Taylor even bothered you?"

"Nope." She shook her head while pouring the beer into a red cup. "You and Nathan are just paranoid." She concluded with a snort.

"Well, I'm going to go find Rachel and try to get this out. Will you be alright?" He questioned, coming to stand behind her and placing a hand on her back.

She looked up with a small smile—neither of them noticing the boy in the doorway. "I'm fine."

He nodded and smiled back, keeping his position. "Find me if you need anything."

"I will." She assured before watching him walk away and noticing the taller boy he passed in the doorway. Her eyes widened. "Oh, so you're done sucking face with Taylor already?" _Shut up, Drunk Haley_, she warned herself.

"Only if you're finished sucking face with my brother." He said somewhat sarcastically, finally walking in the kitchen. He noticed her sway as she drank from the cup. "You didn't strike me as a drinker." He muttered, coming beside her to open the fridge.

"You didn't strike me as a guy who striked anyone as anything." She rambled and then frowned afterward, hoping she made sense.

Nathan laughed as he grabbed two beers and closed the fridge. "As much I've seen you drinking tonight, you're not really that wasted." She had at least taken six down, he was amazed she wasn't passed out somewhere.

"You've been _seeing_ me?" She smirked, stepping a little closer. Liquor always did make her a little bit bolder—or as Chase called it, sluttier.

His humor fell and he looked nothing but nervous. "Uh, maybe." He smirked nervously.

_How cute_, she mentally squealed. That nervous smirk was just…_hot!__Or__ maybe I'm just drunk. _"I drink a lot." She explained, backing away from him.

"I've noticed."

They stared at each other for a moment and she felt like some of her sober-ness was returning under his gaze. Did he not care that Taylor was just in the other room? "So Taylor and Rachel haven't done anything." She decided to say after clearing her throat and breaking their gaze.

He looked down at the ground. "Yeah, well the night's not over, Hales."

_Hales?__ Did he really just call me that? Only people I know well call me that._ "Thank God." She laughed. "I needed a night like this. Drinking and having…well, having just a little fun." She inched her thumb and finger centimeters apart.

He was about to say something when an obviously drunk Jake crashed through the doorway. He leaned against the door, slicked his hair back and shook his head while chucking his thumb towards the party. "Peyton's hot." He said breathlessly.

Haley giggled at his demeanor. "Jake, we know you like Peyton already." She rolled her eyes and then looked to Nathan. "I'll see you around." She waved with two fingers, the other's were occupied being wrapped around her cup as she slipped past him.

He watched her leave with a small grin. "You too." He whispered.

**Xxxxx**

Haley stumbled through the crowd. She knew her limit was like—eight or was it seven? No, it was nine, wasn't it? But she totally broke it whatever it was. Why, you ask? Because she was stupid and lonely—thanks to all the PDA-ing couples that had decided to come tonight that made her remember she was alone— and her father didn't like her and was conveniently trying to make her family poor, then her boyfriend was at some stupid football convention probably hooking up with random girls and she'd never know. And then there was a tad bit of anger in there for her nemesis who'd been sucking face with Nathan since the moment she arrived. It didn't bother her much, if he was with a nice girl, it wouldn't matter (not sure)—but he was with the devil.

"Whoa, whoa." Lucas grabbed her as she almost toppled over onto a table. "How much did you drink, Haley?"

"I just drunk a lotta-bit." She slurred, standing on her own and pushing his hands off. "Where's Brooke? I have to talk to her." She had already started looking for her friend. "Brooke! Brooke!" She yelled, searching for her.

Lucas winced, a second away from covering his ears. "Haley, calm down."

"Where is she?" She asked frantically. "Lucas, is she okay?"

Lucas found it hard to hold back his laughter. "Calm down Haley, she's in the kitchen. They're doing a keg."

Haley nodded in recognition. "Ooh, well, I'm going in there." She decided and then smiled. "Thanks for the help, Lukey." He tried to call her back but she took off swiftly for the kitchen, bumping into someone else on the way. "Oh." She said when she realized who it was.

"You came." Rachel smiled sweetly, like she hadn't known that Haley was there.

"Yeah, I did." She eyed the redhead suspiciously.

"Are you already too drunk?"

"Too drunk for what?" Haley asked.

"To play 'I Never'. Or in our case, 'I Never Will/Did'." Rachel asked innocently.

"'I Never Will/Did'," Haley repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, silly." Rachel giggled, which would've sounded extremely fake if Haley wasn't drunk off her ass, then she grabbed the girls hand and led her to a table—where around it sat Taylor, Sarah, Nathan, Tim and now her and Rachel. "She's playing." Rachel announced, clapping her hands.

"She's way too drunk." Nathan realized when Haley had to catch herself from falling out of the seat Rachel had offered.

"I'm not!" She argued with him, slapping her hand on the table. "Pass the cards." She demanded, looking around the table—heading to the kitchen long forgotten.

Rachel and Taylor shared 'what-a-loser' looks before going back to normal. "Remember, we're playing 'I Never Will/Did'." Rachel reminded, trying not to laugh.

"Oh yea, a skanked-out version of 'I Never'." Haley nodded. "I'm in."

"Haley, you're already drunk enough." Nathan pressed, frowning in concern at her. "This is whiskey." He motioned to the bottle in Tim's grasp.

"If she wants to play let her play." Taylor snapped at him, glaring.

"No, Taylor. This is wrong. She could get alcohol poisoning." He tried to reason angrily.

"That'd make my life a _whole_ lot better." She muttered, studying her nails at the time.

"Taylor," Nathan warned.

"I'm fine!" Haley assured cheerily, flashing him a reassuring grin.

"I'll even start!" Rachel snatched a shot glass away from Tim, who'd been pouring them, and held the whiskey-filled dish up, eyeing the girl next to her evilly. "I never will/did…join a team where I'm not wanted."

"Oooh," everyone said with the exception of Nathan.

"Rachel," Nathan hissed, fed up with the two.

As Taylor, Tim, Sarah and Rachel laughed, Haley got her own cup before downing it, then held her hand up to Nathan. "Stay out of this, Scott." Haley held up her glass with a cheesy smile directed towards Rachel. "I Never Did dye my hair red…" Her smile grew as her eyes scanned the table, lingering on Taylor. "Or blue, or red, or green, or orange." She cackled crazily as she was the only one who didn't drink up.

Rachel looked defeated and glanced to Taylor. "You're turn."

Taylor smiled smugly, looking dead to Haley. "I never will/did have a dad who doesn't want me."

More "Oooh's," floated throughout the group as Haley narrowed her eyes. _Did this Taylor bitch know that she got a little crazy when she was drunk__ Obviously not, by the way she wa__s sitting there smiling._

"Drink up, Haley." Tim insisted, earning a glare from Nathan.

"Taylor, that's messed up." He told the girl sternly. "You're being an asshole."

"Drink up, Haley." Taylor repeated Tim's words, staring straight at Nathan. He was going to tell her not to drink up when Haley held up her hand.

Haley smiled only lightly. "Nah, Taylor. I think this drink's for you." She said plainly before throwing her booze in Taylor's face. Taylor gasped and hopped out of her chair, clearly appalled as she wiped her face with her hands.

Rachel scooted out of her seat too, shocked as well. "You bitch!" She shrieked, causing people to notice. Quickly, she ran to Taylor's aid.

Taylor grunted and watched as Haley got up and tried to walk away. "Wait a minute, bitch." She gritted. "I'm not done with you."

Haley turned to face her. "What other pathetic plans do you have left?" She asked expectantly.

She nodded her head at Rachel, signaling for the humiliation to begin. With a satisfied smirk, Rachel went to stand on the table that the game had just taken place. "Everyone! Everyone!" Rachel called with a smirk. Immediately, she earned the attention of majority of the crowd and the music was suddenly put to a halt. "We're celebrating our win tonight, and our coolness." She began. "We're celebrating the Ravens." The crowd yelled and cheered, throwing their hands and cups in the air. "But I'm sad to say, we may be losing a player pretty soon." She announced as if she was sad about it, and the crowd 'awed'.

Haley propped a hand on her hip, honestly confused. "What are you talking about, Rach-ho?"

Rachel concealed her laugh. "I'm talking about you. Being as dumb as a post." Taylor supplied her with the evidential piece of paper and she held it out to the crowd. "You can't play on the team with all D's, dummy."

"Don't you know that a D stands for Dumb." Taylor giggled. "Haley got a lot of them." She smirked at the girl.

Haley instantly snatched the paper out of her grip and looked around, feeling self conscious for the first time. Yeah, maybe she should've listened to Nathan and Lucas when they told her not to come. She swallowed back a lump in her throat. "This isn't…" She couldn't fix herself to talk much. She sighed sadly and dropped her head helplessly.

Nathan stood up instantly and grabbed Rachel by her arm. "Get down, Rachel. This isn't right." He demanded her. "You're being a bitch."

She yanked her arm away, glaring at him before returning her attention to the audience—then directly to Haley. "I'm sure your mom could afford some kind of tutoring for you if you weren't so…poor." She and Taylor laughed—they were the only ones laughing.

"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?!" Lucas boomed, causing the redhead to hop down in a hurry and Brooke, Jake and Peyton to emerge from the kitchen.

Haley glanced around at all the people who were staring at her and slowly brought her drunken arms up to hug herself. She eyed Rachel and Taylor. "You guys are so sad." Tears stubbornly rimmed her eyes before she ran out.

Instantly, Lucas rushed out after her. Jake was about to chase after them, but Brooke held him back. "Lucas' can handle it." She said bitterly.

Nathan sat idly for a moment before roughly scooting out of his seat and heading towards the door. Taylor gripped his arm. "Where are _you_ going?" She scoffed.

"That was fucked up, Taylor." He gritted angrily, snatching his arm away from her. "How could you do that?"

"Oh right, she can humiliate me and dye my hair different colors, but I can't humiliate her?!" She shrieked, frustrated that her boyfriend was even taking up for that freak.

He shook his head before walking past her. "Grow up, Taylor." He said over his shoulder.

**XxxxX**

"Haley! Haley!" Lucas called, finally catching up to her. He caught her by her hand and twirled her to face him. "Haley, it's alright."

She sniffled and shook her head, angry with herself. "I feel like such an idiot." She groaned, running her hands through her hair. She could feel her heart tightening weakly like it always did when she got really stressed out—she took a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

"Don't." He said sympathetically.

"I can't believe I didn't listen to you and Nathan." She hiccupped, shaking her head. "I can't do this anymore, Lucas. I want to quit the team."

"Haley, no you don't." He cooed, pulling her into a hug that he knew she desperately needed. She clung to him crying, hating herself for even coming in the first place. "Don't let them win."

Brooke just snorted from the doorway and turned to leave.

Moments later, they both heard footsteps and then looked, Nathan was watching them. Lucas gave him a look, as if telling him that she needed him to be completely sympathetic right now because she was drunk, vulnerable and humiliated.

Nathan nodded. "Hey Hales, are you okay?"

Okay, why was this even more embarrassing than knowing that all those people heard Rachel? _Nathan_ heard! _Yeah, those bitches got me good._"I'm fine." She lied, pushing away from Lucas and wiping the tears from her face. She sniffed and refused to look at either of them.

"I'm gonna call you later on, Haley." Lucas cleared his throat. "I have to go talk to Rachel." He nodded his head towards Nathan before walking off.

Nathan watched her sadly, wondering why his arms were itching to pull her to him and let her cry on him like Lucas had. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't be." She had her back to him. Wow, this was really embarrassing.

He watched her back for a moment before he scratched his head. "Do you need a ride home?"

Haley laughed humorlessly and turned to face him. "Nah, that didn't turn out too well last time."

"The ride did actually, it was just the aftermath." He said, clearly ashamed. For some reason, it bothered him seeing her this way. He was used to seeing her strong and standing up to Taylor. Not running out in tears. It made him feel guilty, like he had something to do with it.

"Yeah. And I'm not in the mood for any reruns." She wiped at her wet face.

"There won't be any. I promise." He promised softly. "I just want to take you home."

Haley gulped before nodding reluctantly. "Alright." She sighed, walking towards his familiar car without waiting for him. He had been opened the door for her and took off, they were at least ten minutes into the ride when she laughed at herself. "I wouldn't be surprised if you said 'I told you so'." She glanced at him.

"I wouldn't either." He joked lightly, glancing at her with a playful smirk. "But I wouldn't do that." When she said nothing in reply, he glanced over at her again, this time more seriously. "So is it true?"

"Which one?" She asked tiredly.

"Both?" He shrugged innocently.

Haley stared at the side of his face for a while before taking a deep breath. "Yep."

He frowned in confusion. "How is that possible? I see you do homework everyday."

Haley rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, but I've missed so much. Before basketball, all I did was party and…Chase." She grumbled, knitting her brows. "I've been trying to catch up, but I just don't get some of the stuff, you know? It's not like I'm dumb or anything." She pleaded softly.

"Trust me, I don't think you're dumb." He assured with a caring grin.

"I just hardly paid attention. It was a little difficult with recurring hangovers, you know?" She snorted.

Nathan would slap Taylor and Rachel right now if he were a girl. Haley sounded so sad and broken, how could they fuck with her like that? "You know, I can uh, tutor you if you want."

"What?" She smirked, clearly surprised. "Between working at my moms café in the mornings, school, basketball practice and community service, where do you think I have time to be tutored?"

"At Tree Hill Park." He offered. "You do your homework there anyway." His face scrounged up. "And what you just said brings me to my next question, if your mom owns a café…" He didn't want to finish the question.

"She owes a lot of money to the bank for loans and outages she took on mortgages. Then there's the bills and the café hasn't been doing that great lately." Her eyes rolled softly. "Since I joined the team and all."

"Clarence?" Nathan guessed knowingly. That guy was much more of a dick than he thought.

"Probably." She smiled wryly, looking down at her lap. "I would quit the team but my mom wants me to do this so bad." She said quietly.

"Because she knows what a great player you are." Nathan smiled sincerely at her—she smiled sincerely back. For some reason, that smile of hers just gave him butterflies. _I'm__ gay,_ he yelled at himself.

"And really, I kind of want to stick it to Clarence." She said halfheartedly, laughing. Her chest pains had subsided and she felt a whole lot better when they drove up to her house—until she saw that familiar car. "Crap." She muttered.

"What?" Nathan asked worried. Her front door flew open and Chase walked out, eyeing the car suspiciously.

"Thanks for the ride." Haley thanked quickly, opening her door.

"No problem, Hales." He smiled and watched her climb out. "Hey." He called suddenly.

"Yeah?" She turned back around and grasped the door, trying to play off the fact that she had almost fell on her drunken ass.

"So what? You want me to tutor you or not?" He smiled at her.

She looked thoughtfully for a while before nodding her head. "Yeah, I think we could do that."

"Great." He pointed. "See you on Monday."

"See you then." Her eyes lingered on him for a while longer, until Chase called her name. She rolled her eyes. "Bye.

"Later." His smile quickly left when he noticed the way Chase wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. Rolling his eyes, he drove away.

**XxxxX**

Rachel looked on at her boyfriend—or apparently ex-boyfriend in shock. "What did you just say?"

Lucas shrugged with a nervous look. "Rachel, we're just…it's not what I thought it would be."

She crossed her arms over her chest and fumed. "It's because of that Haley bitch, isn't it?"

"First of all, she's not a bitch, Rachel. If you're looking for one of those, you should look in the mirror." He told her in a calm voice. "Secondly, it's not about anyone else. It's about me and you. We don't click Rachel. We haven't for a while."

"Oh, so Haley's right, right? She gets to do whatever the hell she wants to us but we can't strike back?!" Had he forgotten the sprinkler incident?

"No, I'm not saying she was right. But she didn't put your most personal business out on the line, Rachel. What if she did that, huh? Wouldn't that be a little worse than tie-dying your hair?"

"Hold up for her some more, Lucas," Rachel waved her drunken hand through the air, "I mean, really. That's all you guys ever do anymore. You, Peyton, Nathan. I thought we were friends?"

Lucas gave her an even glare. "I did too, Rachel. But I guess I was wrong." He shook his head in pity at her. "I'll see you around."

"No, no, Lucas, wait." She said rushing up to him and then smirking sexily. "I can make it up to you, I promise."

He shook his head and pried her claws off him. "That won't be necessary."

She watched with her mouth open as he left her.

**XxxxX**

Haley groaned as she lay on the bed. The clock read 1:21am and she still couldn't sleep. Chase had left long ago, she had to feign sleep so he wouldn't bother her. But the feigning was good, nonetheless, because she felt like if she moved anymore she'd paint her walls with puke. Laying here blinking was working out just fine. She was still a little drunk, but nothing she couldn't handle. She'd dealt with this before.

She heard her door creak open and snapped her eyes shut. _How the hell__ did Chase get back in? Her mom was going to kill her._ "Haley?"

She opened her eyes at the sound of Brooke who stood there disheveled and in tears. She lifted her heavy head as much as she could. "Brooke, what—what are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to sleep, but I couldn't get some stuff off my mind." She chuckled nastily and shook her head, the bright moon giving them all the light they needed to see each other.

Haley was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You. And Lucas." She slurred with a bitter laugh. "I mean, I had to be blind, right? Everyday, he's talking to you, going over to you. Hugging you." She spat.

"Brooke, please don't do this right now." Haley dropped her head back down on her pillow, coming to the decision that this wasn't that important to keep her head up. "You're drunk."

"I know what I saw! You were practically hogging him all night!" She shrieked.

"Okay, my mom is sleeping—well, I hope she still is after that." Haley snorted. "Brooke, lay down and go to sleep." She weakly patted the vacant spot beside her.

"No! How could you like Lucas and pretend to be doing this for me?!" Brooke continued, stepping further into the room.

"I don't like Lucas! I like Nathan!" She blurted, sitting up quickly—_too_ quickly. She was going to barf. _And what??__ She liked Nathan??__ Was that what she said??_

"You…what?" Brooke questioned in a little confusion.

"You know what? You don't deserve an explanation. You're supposed to be my friend. Instead, you accuse me of liking your crush?!" Haley rubbed at her throbbing head and stood on her wobbly legs. "I sit there and listen to you day in and day out talk about Lucas! Lucas, Lucas, Lucas! We used to be friends, but I guess you just want me around to talk about Lucas now!" She knew she'd regret her drunken words in the morning, but that didn't seem to stop her from saying them.

And to tell the truth, it wasn't doing her floppy stomach any good right now. Any minute, she was going to blow—again, only this time, grosser.

Brooke made a pained expression. "That's how you feel? You're my friend…I…" She knew she wasn't that much of a friend right now, and maybe she did talk about Lucas a little too much, but only Haley knew how much she really liked him, which is why it hurt her so bad to hear those words…and which is why it probably hurt Haley so bad that she was accusing her. Her face automatically fell into a remorseful one. "Haley, I'm—" She jumped back—Haley barfed all over the floor. Brooke grimaced. "Ew." She muttered, watching as her friend took off to the bathroom to finish.


End file.
